Return to Mobius
by Epicsonicfan
Summary: Maddison Dillmont has recently discovered she has chaos abilities. When Eggman tries to enslave Sonic and steal her powers, there's only one thing left to do: BATTLE! Join Maddie, her best friend Paige, and the whole gang on a hectic journey to stop Eggman from taking over Mobius! (Which we all know will never happen anyways) It starts off slow, but the action picks up as it goes!
1. Here We Go Again

**Hey guys! This is my first book to be posted! EEEE! However, this isn't the first book I've written. There's actually a prequel to this book. Don't freak out! I haven't posted it on here, and I don't think I ever will. It's pretty horribly written. It doesn't have a solid plot, character structure, or anything along those lines, and honestly? I don't feel like rewriting an entire book. So, in order for you to read this book with clarity, I'm going to give you a summary of book 1 (Journey to Mobius). I hope you enjoy! Leave a comment or a favorite if you like it that much. (Which I hope you do!) Thanks guys! Happy reading!**

** Book 1 Summary commencing...**

** Our story begins with Maddison Dillmont. She's a regular 12 year old girl with long brown hair and intense eyes, although she's shy and awkward. She gets transported to Mobius and she doesn't understand why or how. Eventually she teams up with Sonic, Tails, and the rest of the crew. On the way home from Cream & Vanilla's house one day, Eggman attacks and kidnaps Maddie (predictable!) He reveals later that Maddie has chaos abilities (also predictable) and that he wants to use her for evil purposes. In order to blackmail Sonic into giving him the chaos emeralds, he turns Maddie into a robot. Mecha Maddie creates some chaos, but eventually Shadow and Sonic work together to shut her down and turn her back into a human. While trying to destroy Eggman's ship, Maddie and Shadow switch bodies. The gang figures out that Maddie is something called a Chosen One- a person who has three chaos abilities and can control the Master Emerald. Using the giant gem, Knuckles manages to switch Shadow and Maddie back to their regular bodies. Later, Shadow gives Maddie the last piece Tails needs to complete the portal to send her home. Tails gives Maddie a pair of speed shoes (black, coral blue, and white shoes that resemble Shadow's) and to help Maddie learn how to run, Sonic challenges her to a race. Eggman attacks again, this time with a giant spider robot. There's a big battle, blah blah blah, and in the end, good triumphs over evil and all is happy. Maddie returns home the day after that, leaving with the white chaos emerald, an old book from Knuckles on the Chosen One, and a small music box. Sonic tells her that with the white chaos emerald, they'll be sure to meet again. **

**Dang, that was long. O_o Now you can understand why I don't want to post the book! Anyways, that information will be helpful to know when reading this story. Without further ado, I present: Return to Mobius! Happy reading! **

** -Epicsonicfan :D **

_Hey,Owlwyng here. I actually come in and post.I'll have to get used to this but, we'll get better together. _

_ -Owlwyng :3_

-Here We Go Again-

"You ready?" Paige asked, grabbing her white Megaman bag off of the couch. I glanced at her overjoyed face. If she were any happier, her eyes would bug out of her head.

"You bet," I replied. I slipped a camouflage cap over my light brown hair. It wasn't a perfect fit, but it'd have to do.

"Maddie, what's it like?"

"Isn't asking 20 times enough?"

"I'm just curious. I mean, we're traveling to my dream world and all," Paige said longingly. I couldn't help but smile.

"Mobius is beautiful," I started. "The air is clean, and everywhere you look there's trees, grass, and life. At every town you visit there's Mobians, waiting to greet you with a happy smile."

Paige tossed me my sneakers and said, "I can't thank you enough. I know this is extremely difficult for you-"

"You think?" I cut her off, grinning. "It's been two years since I left Mobius. You're in high school now and I'm going to be a freshman next year." I sat down on the couch, bending over to tie my shoes.

"I'll always be older than you!" Paige teased. I slugged her playfully.

"Just because you're older doesn't mean you're in charge of me," I said.

"Oh, believe me. I know," she teased back.

"Can we just go already? I'm nervous enough as it is," I said, grabbing my own bag. It was teeming with supplies and special things I would need in Mobius.

I was pretty nervous. The last time I had visited Sonic's world, things hadn't gone so well. I had WAY too many close calls with death. Maybe this time, since I was going on purpose and with Paige, things would be better.

"Don't worry about it. I've got your back," Paige reassured.

"Oh, believe me," I mimicked, "I know." It was her turn to slug me.

"Are you positive you have everything you need?" I asked for what seemed to be the millionth time.

"Just go!" she persisted. I took a breath, shot her a meaningful look, and reached for the white chaos emerald. Sonic had given it to me two years ago, right before I left Mobius to come home. That had been ages ago. I was a little girl back then, only 12 years old.

A wave of energy coursed through my veins as I grabbed the emerald. It sparkled even in the dull lamp light. I smiled weakly at Paige, and she grinned back.

"On three," I said. She gripped my hand as if her life depended on it. In a way, it kinda did.

I began counting backwards from three. At the same time, Paige's gaze met mine. Her eyes were filled with excitement and wonder. I didn't think I'd ever seen so much happiness in my best friend's eyes.

"Chaos control!" I shouted. In a burst of white light, Paige and I disappeared, off to a new world and who knows what kind of trouble.

**Yeah, yeah. I know it's short. That's why it's a prologue. Chapter 1 should be posted tonight, and the rest will be on a regular schedule. Don't forget to comment and tell me what you think! Thanks so much!**

**-Epicsonicfan :D**


	2. The River

-The River-

As soon as Maddie had chaos controlled, Paige knew something was wrong. She expected to be transported onto solid ground with all of their belongings and everyone conscious.

Instead, she was greeted with a cold splash and the sharp, jolting pain of hard rocks. Pain crashed through her body. The strong current of a river pulled her along.

Water flooded up her nose and rushed into her lungs. Paige coughed, feeling the river drag her under. She struggled desperately for air. Maddie's limp hand slipped from her own. Reality hit her as she realized that Maddie was unconscious.

"No!" Paige's garbled cry was drowned out by the crashing of water. Her survival instincts snapped on. Suddenly, everything was a fight to live.

The river shallowed out slightly. Rocks stabbed at Paige's bare skin, sharpened from years of erosion. She tumbled head over heels over an over and over again. She clutched her Megaman bag tightly. Hopefully, nothing had fallen out.

Paige pushed off of the bottom of the river and gasped for air. A small breath filled her lungs before she was surged back under the roaring current.

_Where's Maddie? _Paige wondered. _She's going to drown!_

The river continued to flow, carrying Paige and Maddie with it. A small waterfall jolted her bones as rocks jabbed her in all the soft places.

Paige was dizzy and disorientated. She was getting light-headed from lack of oxygen. The river was spinning her around and around until she didn't know which way was up anymore.

Another leap, another breath, another dip. The cycle continued. Up ahead, Paige spotted a branch hanging out over the rapids just above a large rock. Smaller rocks dotted around the large one in a tiny formation that was almost pretty. It would be easy to grab the branch and hoist herself up.

Her head swiveled around frantically. Paige wasn't leaving without Maddie. No way was she leaving without her! She would rather drown than let Maddie die.

She noticed Maddie floating just behind her, slightly out of reach. She dug her heels into the bottom of the river to try and slow down a bit.

It worked! Paige wrapped an arm around Maddie's waist, keeping the other hand free. Working with fast fingers, she also tied Maddie's bag straps through the loops of her own bag. As long as she kept a good grip, their stuff wasn't going anywhere.

Suddenly, the river deepened again. Paige's feet couldn't touch the bottom of the rapids anymore. She could very easily drown, if she wasn't careful.

But what about Maddie? She wasn't conscious to keep herself from drowning. Oh gosh, if Maddie died, Paige would never forgive herself.

She shifted her weight so Maddie was almost sitting on her shoulders. She was heavy for a 14 year old! Paige was forced back under the water. She held her breath and pushed Maddie up as high as she could go. She hoped that her head was above the water.

Paige got her footing on a tall rock and pushed off. Her head broke the surface of the water and she gasped in fresh air. A small crest of water splashed over her face. She went into another coughing fit, water going down her wind pipe.

Maddie moaned slightly. Paige could feel her shift a small bit.

"Stay with me, Maddie!" Paige demanded. The overhanging branch was just up ahead. She swam with all her might towards the left shore where the rocks where.

Paige misjudged the distance, and slammed right into the rocks. Her body went, 'oof!' as the breath ran out of her lungs.

Maddie's, on the other hand, made a loud cracking sound. Paige prayed for her to be fine. That crack didn't mean anything, right?

She scrambled onto the slippery rocks, covered in algae and moss. Paige balanced carefully. She had to stay on and get them onto land. That was all that mattered then.

They had to stay alive.

** Again with the short chapter thing. Don't worry, they get much longer as the story progresses. We meet the blue hedgehog and his wonderful friends in the next chapter! As always, I hope you enjoyed!**

** -Epicsonicfan :D**


	3. Reunion at the River

**Before we start with this chapter, I wanted to clear some things up. Some people were confused by my summary of book 1 Basically, Maddie gets thrown into Mobius. She finds out she's a Chosen One, there's a big battle, and then she returns home with speed shoes and a chaos emerald. Simple, right? As always, happy reading!**

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_Hey,Owlwyng here! Epicsonicfan didn't name this chapter so I did. ^w^ I think it works. _

_-Owlwyng :3_

-Reunion at the River-

"Hey, look at Rings River! It sure is roaring today!" Tails said as he piloted the Hurricane. Sonic whistled in agreement.

"Where exactly are we going again?" Tails asked.

"We'll know when we get there!" Sonic reply cheerfully, crouching on the outside wing of the Hurricane.

Shadow stared out the window, sitting behind Tails in a cushioned chair. He hmphed to himself, annoyed with his blue companion's attitude.

"Chill out, Shadz!" Sonic said.

"I don't 'chill', hedgehog," Shadow replied rather harshly.

"Oh yeah? What about that time when-" Sonic fired back.

"Doesn't count."

"And that time when you-"

"Doesn't count either."

"And-"

"Shut. Up."

"Dude! Stop cutting me off before I reach the good part!" Sonic complained. Shadow chuckled softly to himself.

The tension ceased when Tails suddenly exclaimed, "Maddie's back in Mobius!"

Paige dragged herself on top of the largest rock. Large crests of water splashed against her feet, which hung over the edge of the boulder.

She pulled Maddie up next to her. She was definitely conscious-"OWWWWWW!"-and in a lot of pain.

"I'm sorry!" Paige apoligized. She could almost hear Maddie gritting her teeth to keep from screaming. She shoved her further up the rock to keep her from sliding off, triggering another loud cry of suffering.

"Please!" Maddie begged. Paige didn't know what she was asking for, so she just let go of her and backed away slightly.

Maddie let out a small sigh of relief, then choked in a breath. She was clenching and unclenching her fists in slow, rythmic motions. Paige still didn't even know what was wrong with her. Frankly, she was almost terrified to ask.

"Okay! We survived drowning in a raging river! Next we just have to jump from here," Paige gestured to the rock they were laying on, "to over there," she motioned to the bank about seven or eight feet away, "using the help of that unstable branch! Piece of cake!"

"You're kidding me, right?" Maddie moaned.

"YOU KNOW I DON'T DO GOOD WITH WATER!" a startled cry came from through the trees. There was a distant splash, and then frantic coughing and splashing.

Seconds later, a wet blue mass pulled himself up on the rock they were sitting on. Maddie instantly smiled to herself. She knew exactly who it was!

She waited in suspense for Paige to perk up in recognition, the light filling her eyes, the enormous smile that would follow shortly after. Just a few more seconds...

"OHMYGOSH!" Paige screamed. Yep. There she went!

"You're...but...and she...now we're...HOLY COW! YOU'RE HERE!" Paige cried again. She ambled over and gave Sonic a monster hug. Maddie was surprised one of his ribs didn't snap.

Sonic raised an eyebrow at the other girl. "Tails was right then. Hiya, Maddie!"

"Sup," Maddie replied, smiling with pained eyes. She gestured to Paige, who was still clinging to the blue hedgehog.

"I brought a straggler along," she explained.

Paige let out an excited squeal. "I'm Paige!" she told him. She still wouldn't let go. "It's so awesome to meet you!"

Maddie slowly got to her knees, shuffled over to the pair, and gently pried Paige off of Sonic.

"You weren't kidding when you said she gives monster hugs," he said to Maddie.

"I'm surprised you remember me saying that!" she replied. "Oh, wait! Time difference, right? How long has it been since I left?" Maddie asked.

"Only a month and a few days." Sonic said.

"Wow! It's been two and a half years for us!" Paige chimed in.

"I guess our timelines aren't as steady as we thought." Maddie wrapped an arm around the blue hero. "It's good to see you again!"

"I could say the same to you!" Sonic said, grinning. "And it's nice to meet you, too, Paige." He barely finished his sentence before Paige went into another fit of squeals. Maddie grimaced, holding her arm in pain.

"Hey, you okay?" Paige asked. Maddie smiled weakly and looked up at her. She held her arm out awkwardly.

Maddie's arm bent at the elbow. Paige's did too. Maddie's hand bent at the wrist, and so did Paige's. Maddie's arm bent between her wrist and elbow. Paige's didn't.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was that bad!" Sonic's eyes grew wide.

"Ouch. That looks awful." he said helpfully.

"Thanks, genius." Maddie responded. "I'll be fine. Let's just get out of here. I'm freezing!" Paige looked at her friends, all soaking wet. Sonic pressed a button on his com link and spoke briefly to someone.

"Tails is on his way," he said.

"How is it still working? Didn't the water fry it?" Paige asked.

"It's waterproof," Sonic said, grinning.

"But why would you, of all people, have anything waterproof?"

"It's not like I PLAN to go swimming! It's just useful to have."

"I still don't-"

"Paige!" Maddie screamed. "Just deal with it!" Everything was quiet for a moment. She sighed. "I'm sorry. You know I get a little out of control when I'm in pain." Paige nodded in agreement.

To make things better, Tails appeared on the bank of the river about eight feet away through the trees and waved. Seeing Tails was motivation enough for Paige. She took a running leap from the rock and cleared the nearly-impossible-to-make-while-soaking-wet jump with inches to spare. Then she latched onto the furry kitsune with another one of her enormous hugs.

Maddie sighed in defeat. "That girl is impossible," she muttered under her breath.

_ What did you guys like?What did you dislike?Tell Epicsonicfan!These are always welcome._

_ -Owlwyng :3_


	4. Swept Away

**Hi everybody! So I've decide I'll be able to post two chapters a day. That should be a good number, right? I'll try my hardest not to get behind but...*shrugs* it happens.**

** -Epicsonicfan :D**

_Owlwyng here!I've got this schedule down.I do have one question,though. Epicsonicfan,how can you not name the last chapter!?_

_ -Owlwyng :3_

-Swept Away-

It took a little bit longer than expected to cross the river. With Sonic being afraid of the water, me with a broken arm, and two soaked bags, it wasn't exactly easy to jump across.

"How did you end up in the river anyways?" Paige asked Sonic as we all walked to the Tornado, which was landed in a clearing not too far from the river's edge.

"Shadow decided-"

"OHMYGOSH HE'S HERE?! WHERE?!" Paige screamed, and all three of us had to hold her back from tearing into the woods.

"Paige! Control!" I said, biting my lip from the pain rippling through my arm. She eventually stopped fighting us, and she waited for Sonic to finish his sentence.

"She isn't going to freak out again, is she?" Tails asked.

"Not until we meet someone else. Then she'll got nuts again," I replied honestly.

"Oh."

"Anyways," Sonic said with a chuckle, "Shadow thought it would be nice to send ME in to get you guys. Talk about unsuspecting! One second I'm on the plane, and the next, I'm drowning in a freezing river!"

"So, where is he now then? Paige inquired, fighting extremely hard to keep from spazzing out again. Shadow was her absolute favorite character from the series ever. She brought a homemade jacket with her that was black with red highlights in his honor that she couldn't wait to show him.

"Shadow took off before I had a chance to land. Who knows where he is now?" Tails answered. I realized he was probably with Eggman, but I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to make things worse.

Paige stared curiously at my arm. It was hurting so badly and every step I took jarred it slightly. Several times I hadn't been able to contain my sharp screams of pain.

"Here, maybe this'll help," she suggested. Paige walked over to a nearby tree and broke off a branch. Then she slid her Megaman bag off her shoulder and pulled out a green Tobuscus shirt. Using careful hands, she gently pulled my arm out straight, and put the stick on. Finally, she wrapped the shirt around both the stick and my arm and tied it securely.

"Thanks," I said, sucking in a breath. The pain was terrible still, but at least I couldn't mess my arm up more. The wet shirt made me even colder than I already was.

"Maddie," Tails said, "We're not medical geniuses. A broken arm is out of our league. Since we can't leave it untreated, I was thinking I could take you into town."

"Oh goody," I replied sarcastically. "Another visit to the doctor's office."

"Actually, I'm afraid that sending you to a clinic might be dangerous," Tails said. "Some doctors might try to use you for your powers. I'm sending you to an old friend's house instead. It should be safer that way."

"That'll work just fine. As long as someone can help me fix this dang thing!" We continued walking for a few more minutes until we reached a small clearing.

Paige stood in awe at the plane that lay before us. I smiled at the familiar memories of the aircraft.

Tails had done another paint job. Instead of being blue and a yellow-orange color, it was red and blue, with a yellow stripe running through the middle. Four wings extended in an X shape fashion away from the center section. Even from a distance, I could see the beauty of the massive form of the Tornado.

"Paige, meet the Hurricane. It's designed similarly to the Tornado, but it has more battle features and it's easier to maneuver." Tails said proudly.

I stared in awe. This was a different plane? "Wow. You fooled me!" I said, smiling. Tails grinned at me.

"Okay, here's the plan. Paige, you can come with me. We'll head back to my house and I can show you around," Tails said. "In the meantime, Sonic, you take Maddie to Matt's house. See if he can fix her up." Sonic nodded and gave a thumbs up.

Paige put my bag and her own bag over her shoulders. She dug in my satchel and tossed me my speed shoes. I smiled.

"Thanks," I said. "Can you get the contacts too? Left pocket, center zipper." She scrounged around some more before finding the small plastic case with my precious contacts inside. Paige grinned at me and winked.

"See ya at home!" she called before bounding into the cockpit of the plane. Even through the excruciating pain in my arm, I laughed. She was going to be a handful. I quickly took off my regular shoes and threw them up to her. She caught them easily.

"Nice socks," Sonic joked, snickering. I stuck my tongue out at him and he chuckled. I had a weird thing where I always wore mix-matching socks. I felt that it made me stand out and be more unique in the world.

I watched as Tails flew up next to her and sat down in the front chair. A few seconds later, the engine roared to life. Pure elation shone on Paige's face as the Hurricane lifted into the sky. I stared at the plane until it was a tiny dot in the sky.

"C'mon! We need to get that arm checked out," Sonic urged, eager to run again. I shoved him with my good arm.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I sat down and hurriedly put on my speed shoes. They surprisingly still fit. I think Tails had designed them to form to my foot, so when I grew, the shoes would still fit comfortably. Okay by me!

I stood up and slipped in my contacts. They burned for a fraction of a second, then it went away. Green lights shone at the edge of my vision with stats like speed, terrain, and heat numbers.

Without waiting, I took off into the forest. I heard the pounding of feet behind me, and I knew Sonic wasn't far behind.

My arm was making it complicated for me to run. Normally, I swung my arms in rhythm with my feet to help keep my balance and speed. With a broken arm, I couldn't do that. Plus, every step I took jarred the bones in my arm with excruciating pain. It felt like someone was taking a drill and slamming a sledgehammer on top of it through my arm. Ouch.

I slowed slightly because 1. I needed the control 2. I had no idea where I was going, so I needed to follow Sonic 3. The slower my speed, the less pain my arm experienced.

Sonic nudged me playfully as he passed me, and I nearly faceplanted into a tree. He grinned and sped up, taking an obvious lead. Even when I was injured, he still had the competitive side of him turned up full blast.

Several minutes later, we reached a small town I didn't recognize. It was different from Boulder Bay; more modern and up-to-date. Cozy houses lined the paved streets. Little cafe's with lit up signs were splattered here and there, with shops and antique stores in between.

Sonic led me to a house the farthest from the town. It was older and more beat up than the rest. A white picket fence with peeling paint lined the perimeter of the yard. Dead flowers in broken pots were set on the rotting wooden porch. The shudders were hanging off of their hinges, and the windows were cracked in places and covered in dirt, grime, and dust.

As I walked up the cobblestone pathway to the door, I noticed the fence was broken in places, with the poles fallen on top of each other. Some of the stones on the path were missing too.

"Geez...this places needs a little TLC!" Sonic said.

"I think it needs more than a little," I answered skeptically. "Are you sure this is the place?"

"2307, Matt Carver," he read aloud from the crooked mailbox.

"This just seems a little...low..." I sighed uncertainly. He nodded in agreement. Just then, Sonic's com link chimed. He answered quickly.

"Sonic here. What's up?" he asked.

"Eggman's after the Master Emerald! We need you here, stat!" Tails shouted through the com.

"Be there in a jiffy," Sonic answered. He glanced at me. "Think you can handle yourself?"

"Sure. I'll see you at home, okay?" I said. He gave me a thumbs up and sprinted off down the path. It was just me. Alone. I sure hoped I could do this.

**Before I go, I wanted to thank you. This book means SOOOO much to me. I've been working on it for the longest time and I can't believe people like you are finally reading it! If you're skeptical about where this book is going, I encourage you to keep reading. I promise the chapters get longer and the plot becomes evident as we continue throughout our journey. All books have to have an introduction, and mine seems to be rather long, unfortunately. If you have any questions, feel free to comment or PM me and I'll be more than happy to answer them!**

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_Owlwyng here.I really enjoy this story and am really glad I get to post it! This story has definitely helped me write TCOTF.(I hope to post this soon.)Ask me questions through PM. Until next chapter,bye!_

_-Owlwyng :3_


	5. Never Trust Creepy Houses

**Hi guys! I've gotten some positive and negative feedback from you all. At least people are reading this, right? Things get real in this chapter. Never go in stranger's houses, kids! Nothing good ever happens! Happy reading! ^u^ **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_I remember this gets real._

_-Owlwyng :3_

-Never Trust Creepy Houses-

I surveyed the front porch. I had to jump over certain sections so I didn't fall into the soft, rotten holes that were in the wooden planks.

When I reached the door, I looked for a doorbell. I found one, but it was run down. Wires poked out of the socket in the wall and the light from the circular button was out. Pressing it, I waited, but nothing happened.

I took a breath and grabbed the heavy brass knocker on the door. I knocked three times and waited again. No answer.

"Hello?" I called, looking at the name on the mailbox again. "Dr. Carver? Are you home?" There was a slight shuffling around inside, so faint that I was surprised I heard it myself.

"Please, sir. I need some help," I tried again. I heard the unlocking of several locks from the inside. With a creepy squeak, the door opened slightly.

"What do you want?" an older voice growled. A black and purple raccoon peeked around the door at me. His eyes were cold and hard.

I held out my arm with the Tobuscus shirt wrapped around it awkwardly, wincing. "I heard that you could help with things like this?" I said cautiously. He frowned deeply.

"Sorry, darling. That's not my cup of tea. Goodbye!" Matt said, attempting to shut the door.

"Wait!" I said firmly, forcing myself in the way of the door. His eyes flared angrily. "I'm a friend of Tails's," I said quickly. "I'm sure we can arrange some sort of way to pay you."

Kindness flooded into the old man's face. "Well! Why didn't you say so! Please, come in. Come in!" he insisted. I stepped inside of the house as he opened the door wide, gesturing with his hands in a 'come here' motion.

The inside was just as old and dated as the outside. Maroon reds with aged yellow flowers painted the walls, which were cracked in places. The carpet was messy with dirt and grime. The windows had dusty curtains, one of which was torn as if a beast had slashed its claws through it.

Matt led me to a dated, yellow couch and gently sat me down on one end. I took a seat carefully. There was something about this house that gave me the creeps.

"Would you like a drink? I was just about to have one myself," Dr. Carver offered, walking over to a small, wooden table that held glasses and drinks.

"No thanks," I said. "I'm not thirsty."

"Oh, come now! Must you deny my hospitality?" he continued, pouring me a drink anyways. I sighed. I would take the glass, but I wouldn't drink anything.

"Allow me to introduce myself!" he said, handing me the clear glass full of some type of sparkling water. "I'm Doctor Matthew Benjamin Carter."

"Pleased to meet you, Dr. Carver."

"No need to be so formal. Just call me Matt."

"Well then. Hi, Matt," I replied, "I'm-"

"Maddison Dillmont," Matt finished for me. He smiled a smile that appeared friendly, but never reached his eyes.

"How do you know me?" I asked, my heart pounding.

"You are the Chosen One of our generation, Maddison. The entire population of Mobius knows who you are," he explained. His eyes glanced up and down my body. I involuntarily shifted and crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling vulnerable.

"My, you certainly are a scrawny little thing. Not at all what I expected." Matt said softly with a look of disprovement.

I gripped the couch tightly, forcing myself to keep calm. Who was he calling scrawny?

"Sorry to disappoint you, Doc," I answered slyly. There was a period of silence for a while.

"What's your occupation?" I asked awkwardly after a moment.

"I'm a retired surgeon."

"Any specific reason you quit?"

"Who told you about me?" Matt asked, cutting off the previous conversation. I took note of his sudden topic change.

"A friend of mine," I said vaguely. As I waited for his response, I studied him carefully.

He was an old man, around in his mid 60's from what I could tell. He seemed surprisingly agile for his age. He was a deep shade of black, with purple patches here and there, like a regular raccoon.

Matt wore a red, flowered hawaiian styled shirt that reminded me somewhat of the walls. His cream colored khaki pants clung to his legs.

His face was old and wrinkled with age. The eyes freaked me out a lot. He could hold a death stare without having his eyes look at me at all. It was creepy.

Those same eyes seemed to toy with me. One second, he could be smiling and happy with eyes that lit up when he spoke. The next, he could be scowling and his eyes seemed as if they had never felt any love. I didn't understand what it was.

"Tails, I assume, " Matt responded after a while. "Well, darling. I must ask this, do you have a chaos emerald with you at present?"

"Yeah," I pulled out my white chaos emerald, shimmering from the light coming through the window. "The white chaos emerald, the emerald of illusion."

"Excellent! This process will be a lot better than expected!" Matt eagerly jumped up from his seat. I couldn't help but think in my head, things aren't always as they seem.

He led me over to the kitchen bar and I placed my arm carefully on the granite counter. Matt gently pressed on my arm in places, and I fought back the impulse to spit in his face. I didn't like him touching me. I was vaguely aware my arm was numb to the point I couldn't feel the pain anymore.

"Give me the chaos emerald, and I can begin," Matt instructed.

"No," I said firmly. "The emerald stays with me."

"Fine." He pursed his lips. "I need to have contact with the emerald, though. Put your hand out flat or slightly curled with the emerald in your palm. I'm going to hold it, but it will still be in your possession. Understand?"

"Whatever. Just get this thing healed," I replied. He pressed his lips together in a thin line and began his process.

Matt put his hands around the emerald. One hand was underneath mine. His fingers were longer than mine, so he was able to grip the emerald from the bottom, around my hand. He also had his other hand hanging on from the top, placing his palm over the smooth surface of the emerald.

Once he had a hold of the emerald, I made sure not to let go. Immediately, chaos energy surged through my body. I could feel it working in my veins and driving through my blood.

"I'm not a Guardian or a Protector or a Chosen One," Matt said softly, almost whispering. "I have no relation to the emeralds whatsoever. Do as I tell you, and you can actually heal yourself with my help," I bit my lip and nodded. Healing myself? It seemed like something a from a fairy tale, but it wasn't. This was all real.

"Think about the broken bones in your arm. Imagine those bones being mended. Go into the tiniest detail of every little thing." I did as I was told.

"Now what?" I actually whispered.

"Chaos heal can take place."

Before I knew what was happening, he shouted, "Chaos heal!" in bold, clear words. The emerald grew hot to the touch. I was blinded by the light radiating from the gem. I wanted to shield my eyes, but I didn't have any free hands, so I buried my head in my shoulder instead and shut my eyes.

My arm wasn't numb anymore. I could feel the chaos energy rushing to my arm, pouring into my bones and healing everything. The emerald's light died down some what, glowing only softly. It started pulsing in harmony with my heartbeat, which, frankly, was kind of freaky.

Suddenly, a searing pain rippled through my arm. I could actually feel the bones in my arm driving together again. The nerves were being repaired as well, and gosh, they hurt like HECK.

Seconds later, the light faded, the heat subsided, and my arm was fully healed.

"Oh my gosh," I managed to mumble.

"There we go! Good as new!" Matt said, tapping my arm in places to see if it was really fixed.

"Here," he said. "You need something to drink to get your fluids back." He handed me the untouched drink from earlier.

"Thanks," I said rather cautiously. I set the glass down on the table and ignored it.

"Aren't you going to drink?" Matt asked. My mind screamed frantically. I didn't want to accept anything from this guy anymore. He was creepy and I had already completed what I came to do. On the other hand, he said I needed fluids. Not that I trusted him, but still...

"Sure I am!" I replied. I picked up the glass and drank a few slow, careful sips. As I set the glass down, I noticed my hands were shaking rapidly.

"Is there," -pause- "a problem, my dear?" Matt inquired, grinning.

"M-my head..." I murmured, clutching it. Things were going foggy. The world was fading in and out with bright flashes. Everything started to spin, as if I were on the whirling teacups ride at an amusement park, except ten times worse. Make that one thousand times worse.

I fell off of the stool and hit the carpet with a thud. I welcomed the ground happily. It helped me get a grip on things and it made the world spin slower.

Something was interfering with my contacts. The numbers were increasing rapidly and out of order. With shaking hands, I tried to pop them out. After poking myself several times in the eye, I managed to get them out. I slipped them inside their case and stuck them in my pocket.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to accept drinks from strangers?" Matt asked, laughing. That's when everything blacked out.

Oops.

**If any of you have ever played or seen the game Heavy Rain, this chapter resembles the scene with the Doctor A LOT. I actually had the idea for this scene before I ever knew that game even existed. Kinda funny, huh? Anyways, once I did play the game, I decided to take some influences from it. I made sure to not copy anything, but to only take ideas. Please don't bash me for it ;_; **

**Owlwyng is my editor and friend. She helps me with a lot of stuff including the writing process. She's the one who posts below my writings in italics, while my writings are in bold. Feel free to comment what you think so far! Thanks as always guys. I love you so much **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_Owlwyng here. I can't say anything .She totally took words from my mouth. Love you all too._

_-Owlwyng :3_


	6. Meeting Knuckles

**More characters join the list today! Welcome our favorite gullible echidna, Knuckles! I'm so happy we're finally getting into the plot of this story. Something big will happen soon! :3 As always, happy reading! **

**-Epicsonicfan :D **

_This chapter and the next chapter are connected. This is going to be great._

_ -Owlwyng :3_

-Meeting Knuckles-

Paige pressed her face against the window, leaving smudge marks behind. The world was so far below them, and they were moving crazily fast.

"This is so AWESOME!" Paige exploded. She switched windows and looked out of the left side of the Hurricane for the nineteenth time.

"I guess so!" Tails agreed, also for the nineteenth time. Paige's excitement was contagious. Tails felt himself growing more and more eager to try out the new features of the plane.

"Can we blow something up?" Paige asked happily. Tails had to stop himself from facepalming, because if he let go of the controls, they would immediately nosedive towards the ground. One of the bad features about the plane, he guessed. You win some, you lose some, he thought with a smile.

"Erm..." he answered awkwardly. "Maybe later, when it's absolutely necessary." Paige shifted in her seat, facing the right window again. She certainly was a hyped up thing.

"Where are we going?" Paige asked.

"Back to my house. There's a hangar there to keep the Hurricane, as well as another hangar to keep the Tornado, my worshop, and the lab," Tails replied.

"Sounds great!" she chirped, smiling from ear to ear. Tails flew the plane downwards, getting closer to the ground. The Master Emerald was in view on his radar, so Paige would be able to see it in person pretty soon.

"Did Maddie ever get to fly in this?" Paige asked, switching once again to the other window.

"Once in the Tornado, and that was only a test flight for some new features. That's when I decided to build the Hurricane!" Tails smiled at her, and she finally leaned away from the window to look at him. "You're gonna get more airtime than she did, if that's what your looking for," Tails added. Paige did a fist pump into the air.

"She isn't much for flying. She likes to keep her feet on the ground," she replied.

Suddenly, Paige bolted upright, pressing her hands and face against the window. At first, Tails was alarmed, but then he realized that the Master Emerald was in view from the left window.

"I'm guessing you know that's the Master Emerald, which-"

"-has Knuckles as the Guardian! Tails, I know more about this place than you do yourself," Paige finished, switching window sides once again. Surprisingly, Tails didn't doubt her.

"We're not busy. Want to meet Knuckles?" Tails asked. Before he could finish his sentence, Paige was clammering over the seat and pushing the controls downwards. Looks like that's a yes, he thought with a worried smile.

Once they touched down, Paige leaped out of the plane and explored her surroundings. Angel Island was beautiful at this time of year.

From what Maddie had described, Angel Island has been relatively bare with a few trees and shrubs here and there when there wasn't snow on the ground. The Master Emerald had been kept on a large stone podium. That had been in Winter. Here, it was a whole different story.

Canopies of forests circled around them. Trees with fruits and bushes with berries surrounded her entirely. Luscious plants of every kind weaved their way through the forest, with vines hanging down from high branches. Light filtered through the trees, creating delicate patterns on the forest floor. It was beautiful!

"Wow. Maddie totally got the description wrong," Paige said in utter awe. Tails had to circle many times to find a clearing to land in since the island was so densely covered.

"Well, she was here in the middle of Winter. Right now we're in Monsoon."

"Monsoon?"

"It's an extra season for us, between Winter and Spring. It's rainy for almost the whole season." Tails grinned at Paige. "I'm surprised you showed up on the one day we haven't had rain in weeks."

"Wow! So all the rain is making the plants grow?"

"Exactly," Tails said, "That's also the reason Rings River was roaring so badly. It was flooding with all the storms." Paige nodded in understanding.

"C'mon! Let's just go and meet the gullible red thing already!" she said, bounding off through the forest.

"Um, Paige?" Tails called.

"Yeah?" she hollered back.

"Wrong way!"

"Oh, right." Paige crashed back through the branches and let Tails lead the way, grinning sloppily the whole entire time.

When Paige first saw Knuckles, it was just as she envisioned it. The red echidna was perched near the Master Emerald, laying down on his back in front of it. One leg was tossed over the other in a care-free fashion. He twirled a green, perfectly shaped leaf between his teeth and let his dreadlocks blow around in the wind around him. His eyes were closed as he relaxed in the wonderful weather.

"KNUX!" she cried, unable to contain herself. She sprinted up the cobble steps-nearly tripping two times-and gave a startled Knuckles an enormous hug. He jerked himself up and into a fighting stance, letting out a yelp of surprise.

"What're you doing?!" Knuckles screamed.

"Hi! I'm Paige! It's amazing to meet you!" she squealed. Knuckles put a gloved hand out to block her attempted hugs.

"Cut it out, would you?" he shouted. "Wanna lead him right to us?!"

"Lead who?" Tails said, stepping around Paige.

Knuckles folded his arms across his chest and turned away from them, then looked over his shoulder. "Eggman!"

Paige turned to Tails in surprise. "What? Why is Eggman here?" she asked, startled, but very excited all the same. Her happiness seemed to be endless.

"Who knows?" Knuckles answered, turning back to face them again, slightly annoyed.

"How do you know he's here?" Paige said.

"I can sense the negative energy," he answered, becoming ticked off.

"But if we're so worried about him coming, then why were you so relaxed when we sho-"

"SHUT UP AND TRUST ME!" Knuckles took a breath and stared into the forest. "He's nearby. You any good with fighting?"

"I don't think we have a chance to find out," Tails murmured, gesturing behind them. Trees crashed down in a domino effect as something, whatever it was, came closer.

In seconds, a tall, wide robot appeared. Its shining metal glinted in the sun, momentarily blinding her. It looked like a frog, a poison dart frog to be exact. Blue, black, and silver colors covered the robot. It was pretty impressive, actually.

_No, Paige_, she told herself. _Stay focused!_

When Eggman appeared in his flying hovercraft, Paige felt an odd mixture of excitement and mortal terror. Not exactly a feeling you get every day.

"Hello, hello! Mind if I join the party?" Eggman called to us from up above.

"Let me check...NO!" Paige hollered. She grinned mischievously up at him. It was hard for her to decide whether to focus on Mr. Eggface up above or the huge looming robot standing eerily still.

"Aren't you a charming little thing? First impressions can always make the difference, you fiesty little fiend!"

"Lay off Eggman!" Knuckles cried. "Whatever you're after, you aren't gonna get it. End of story!"

"Come now. Let's not be so selfish! Sharing is caring!" Eggman replied.

"Since when has THAT applied?" Tails inquired.

"Whaddya want, Eggface?" Paige asked, changing the subject slightly. Eggman dipped down below the tree line and disappeared from sight, hidden by the branches. Knuckles watched the Master Emerald intently, seething with anger, while Tails and Paige watched the perimeter.

She knew there was going to be a battle. Paige tensed, then slowed her breathing and relaxed. She clenched and unclenched her hands in a slow, rhythmic motion. In her head, Paige began to panic. As the moment for battle drew near, she realized how unprepared she was.

"I'm ready," she whispered to herself, gazing at the giant metal frog. "I can do this."

This was officially the best day ever!

**I love character development! I'm so excited to see how Paige is going to change from now to the end of the book. It'll be a wild ride, but I'm glad we're taking it together! Thanks for all your support guys. We're slowly getting somewhere!**

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_So...Yeah. I just realized I might have missed a bunch of mistakes like typos and stuff. I'll totally go through and fix them if you'll tell me where they are._

_- Owlwyng :3_


	7. The First Battle, Kinda

**Herro everyone! :3 I'm sure you're wondering why this is going up tonight. I decided I'd be nice and give you three chapters in one night. YAY! READING! Enjoy!**

** -Epicsonicfan :D**

_Hey,Owlwyng here. Aren't we really nice? A third chapter because it connects with last chapter. It's really great. Stuff happens in this chapter._

_- Owlwyng :3_

-The First Battle...Kinda-

Today was the best day ever. Sonic sprinted down the cobble pathway, dodging pedestrians that were walking in the streets.

He looked up. Not even a trace of a cloud wisped in the sky. Sonic grinned.

Monsoon had begun about a week after Maddie had left Mobius. It had been raining for a whole month straight. Today was the first day they'd had all season without rain.

Not that the rain bothered him. In fact, he actually liked it. Sonic enjoyed the smell that the rain brought. The air became cooler, damper, easier to run in.

The terrain was different, too. He liked to slide on the wet grass, usually straight into puddles. Sonic didn't mind getting wet in the rain, either. It refreshed him and pushed him to keep going.

The rain was helping him get used to water a little bit as well. Not that he'd go jump into the lake and start swimming, but he still wasn't deathly afraid of it.

More like extremely fearful of it.

Sonic drew himself out of his thoughts and focused on running on dry ground. He'd been pounding his feet in the stormy weather for so long, he had to get used to the dry terrain again.

Of course, he'd have to get used to the slick, slippery terrain all over, too. Oh well!

Within minutes, Sonic had arrived at Angel Island. He maneuvered through the thick vines, dense trees, and sparkling rivers. It was absolutely breath taking this time of year.

Sonic sprinted past a fruit tree. As he passed it, he jumped into the air, ripped and apple off a low branch, and hit the ground running again, all without slowing his pace.

He bit into the apple and felt juice spray back into his face. The sweetness of the fruit flooded his taste buds. He continued running, crunching and munching on the apple as he ran.

Sonic darted into a clearing, only to find himself thrown in the midst of a battle.

A large, blue and black metallic frog loomed before him. Knuckles was on its back, punching large indentations in the metal while it lurched wildly. Paige was moving towards Eggman, who was creeping towards the Master Emerald, and Tails was nowhere to be found.

Sonic threw away what was left of his apple, and jumped into the middle of the fight.

He started off easy. He bolted past Paige, who stared in jealousy and a little fear. Then he jumped up to Eggman's hovercraft, landing on the side.

"Hey, Eggman! Long time no see!" Sonic chirped.

"You horrid little hedgehog!" Eggman cried in response. "I'll teach you to come and foil my plans!"

"Sounds great! I can always use a lesson or two," he commented, winking. Eggman's face turned red with rage. He grabbed the controls and tilted sharply, throwing the blue hedgehog off of the hovercraft. Sonic spun and landed on his feet next to Paige.

He shot her a grin and bolted off to help Knuckles, leaving Paige alone. To be honest, she didn't know exactly what to do. Sonic and Knuckles seemed to have things under control. Plus, she didn't have any of the weapons she wanted. She only had her fists. Those didn't do much against metal.

Paige sighed and ran off through the forest towards the Hurricane. Her hair was almost dry now, but it looked terrible. She really wished she had a hairbrush at the moment.

Her clothes were a different story. They were still sopping wet. Every step she took, she could hear the water sloshing in her shoes and squishing out from her socks. The weight of the water also weighed her down. A lot.

Paige finally squished her way out of the trees and into the clearing. Tails was just about to lift off the ground. Thinking on impulse, she took a running start and leaped onto the side of the aircraft. Miraculously, she made it.

Tails realized there was someone on the plane and quickly opened the hatch to the cockpit. Paige clambered in and sat down in the seat behind him.

"Hey," she said, slightly panting for breath.

"Don't ever do that again," Tails advised, but was smiling anyways. "Wanna help?" Paige nodded vigorously.

He held down a button and pulled a lever, and suddenly the plane started shifting. _Holy cow_, Paige thought. _The plane's transforming!_

Seconds later, the aircraft was wider, with the seat Paige was sitting in moved next to Tails instead of behind him. A new panel of controls opened and moved into position in front of Paige.

Tails smoothly lifted the Hurricane into the air and switched into battle mode. It was time to do some serious damage.

Once they were circling above Eggman and his robot, Paige started fingering the controls happily.

"Can I blow stuff up now?" Paige asked. Tails had barely opened his mouth to say yes, when Paige flipped the cap off of the button and started firing rapidly.

"WOAH!" Tails yelled in shock. "Paige! You have to aim, not just fire randomly!" Paige had a weird grin on her face. It was almost like she was going crazy with power.

Tails pulled up the sights electronically. A small red square appeared on the windshield in front of Paige and the kitsune, providing an aiming system. Luckily, Paige decided to start using it.

The two of them fired at the robot frog, who was fighting hard. The metal robot didn't move around much. It just shot its tongue at its attackers and stamped its feet a lot. It wasn't one of Eggman's best designs.

"Why would Eggman's have a robot of this power? I mean, is this a joke?" Paige asked, as if reading his mind.

"It's a distraction," Tails murmured, suddenly realizing what he had known before but never connected. He pointed to Eggman, who had the Master Emerald clamped between two metal claws on the underside of his hovercraft.

"Here. Put this on!" he said urgently. Paige accepted the small earpiece and slipped it in her ear. Tails did the same with his own.

"It's like the com-links on our wrist communicators. It's on all the time, so just talk and all of us can hear you!" Paige nodded in understanding. "They don't work over extremely long distances, but once you get in radius, they work just fine. Ready?"

"What exactly and am I being ready for...?" Paige asked.

"We're gonna get back the Master Emerald. Hang on!" Tails pulled up hard and flipped over, narrowly dodging a tree.

"YES!" Paige exclaimed, shooting a fist in the air.

"Sonic! C'mon!" Tails yelled into his earpiece. Down below, Sonic looked up at us, waved, and darted off towards Knuckles. The two spoke briefly before Knuckles went back to hammering the heck out of that robot.

Sonic took a running jump and sprung onto the top right wing of the Hurricane. He grinned at Paige and gave her a thumbs up.

Tails pulled sharply to left, avoiding another tree again. This time, though, he lifted high up into the sky. He passed the canopy of the jungle and flew circles around clouds.

"Is Knux staying behind?" Paige asked. Tails nodded, not taking his eyes off of the controls.

"He said he'd meet up with us later if needed," Sonic said from outside the plane, "He's going to check on Maddie first."

Paige pulled in a sharp breath. During the battle, she hasn't even noticed that Maddie wasn't there. "Where's Maddie?" Paige asked.

"She's back at Matt's place. Don't worry, she'll be fine," Sonic replied. Tails stiffened suddenly.

Paige suddenly felt a deep pain in her gut. Something was out of place. Maddie was in trouble. Somehow, some way, something was wrong. Paige could sense it.

"Knuckles better hurry," Paige said simply with a worried tone. Tails nodded determinedly and kept flying after Eggman.

Paige prayed for Maddie's safety. She knew that she could handle herself.

Couldn't she?

***dramatic music plays* Maddie's definitely in trouble, and Eggman has successfully stolen the Master Emerald! Now what? Check back tomorrow to find out! Thanks for sticking with me guys. You mean the WORLD to me! **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_Our first battle! YAY! Anyway,tell me anything I missed. I'll fix it. See ya tomorrow!_

_-Owlwyng :3_


	8. Trouble with the Doc

**Hey guys! I may only be able to post one chapter tonight. Time crunches and stuff. At least I posted three last night, right? Sorry for the inconvenience, but I'll see what I can do. **

**Spring break ends for me tonight and I have to go back to school tomorrow. I'll try my hardest to keep the posting schedule the same, but I still have homework, friends, and my life to keep up too. ^u^ please don't bash me!**

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_I'm going to try to upload everything tonight, but Im back to being busy too. I'll try. Anyway, enjoy!_

_- Owlwyng :3_

-Trouble with the Doc-

I groaned softly. My head throbbed. I heard water steadily dripping in a rhythm somewhere behind me.

My first thought was: _I am such an idiot._

My second thought was: _Where am I?_

I painstakingly opened my eyes and looked around, registering everything in sight as I had taught myself to do over the years. I felt the metallic taste of blood on my tongue. _Yuck_, I thought. I suddenly realized I was tied to something. I strained my neck to examine my situation.

When I shifted, I felt the cold sensation of metal touching skin. I jerked instantly and felt pain rush up my back. I was in a very painful position. I carefully lowered myself back down and felt my muscles tighten.

I strained my neck again. Silver metal glinted back at me. Okay, I thought. Cold metal table, check! I was laying flat on my back. I really wished my shirt was pulled down a bit so the metal wasn't freezing my skin off. Why was it so freaking cold in here?

My wrists and ankles were tied by thick, nylon ropes. I struggled for a second, then relaxed (as much as I could in this situation) again. The ropes were tied tightly through holes in each corner of the table and secured with large knots. I wasn't going anywhere.

I looked around. The water was dripping from the ceiling, slowly leaking into a rusted bucket placed underneath it.

So to recap: I was laying on a freezing, rectangular shaped, metal table somewhere unknown. I was tied by the wrists and ankles with thick ropes. Struggling wasn't helping, and I was too weak to really try anyways. Plus my brain was still foggy from the drugs I had ingested. Ugh...

Standing at my feet, was none other than Doctor Matthew Carver. My heart jumped for a second, then I realized his back was to me. I felt my lips curl into a snarl. That creepy old man freaked me out. He looked the same, but now he had on a white lab coat on that came down to his ankles.

To my left, a set of stairs ascended upwards to what I assumed was the first floor. Okay, at least I'd figured out I was in the basement. It made sense. There were two windows behind me. I could tell by the grainy light filtering and creating patterns on the walls in front of me by my feet. I added 'windows' to my mental "Potential Ways to Escape" list I had going.

I coughed a little as dust and blood clogged my throat. Matt turned his head then, his eyes burning into me. I kept my stare just as strong as his and made sure I was visibly snarling.

"Ah, you're awake now!" Matt turned his back on me again. "It took you quite some time. I was about to start the operation! So glad you could join me," he said with a little too much enthusiasm.

"I miss surgery...it has been several years. They took away my doctoring rights when I 'accidentally' plunged a scalpel straight into someone's heart." I sucked in a breath. He wasn't serious. He couldn't be.

"Anyways, I thought we'd perform a simple surgery! At least, I'll be performing, and you'll be screaming in pain," Matt continued, adding in a creepy maniacal laugh. I shrunk against the table, suddenly feeling very, VERY vulnerable.

"What kind of surgery, doc?" I asked, my voice quivering slightly despite my efforts to keep it steady. He didn't answer right away. There was a lot of clanking of what sounded like tools being arranged on trays.

He finally answered, "I've been searching for a long, long time, Maddison." Matt sighed. "Searching for a Protector, a Guardian, Chosen One. Someone who would have chaos energy."

"What makes you think I have any chaos energy? I'm from Earth, genius," I retorted. He spun on his heels and I flinched. Matt slowly turned back around towards his table. I got a glimpse of it while he was turned. I was right, there was a metal tray filled with tools I couldn't identify from my position.

"All the more reason to find out. I've finally found you," he continued further. "I'm going to become part scientist, if you don't mind. Let's perform an experiment, shall we?"

Matt turned around again and jabbed a needle straight into my arm. I cried out in the sudden, unexpected pain. I writhed away from him as much as possible. I wanted to get away from him, from his house, from his creepiness.

He pulled up on the top tab. Blood, MY blood, seeped into needle and collected there. Matt grinned evilly and rushed back to his little table while I bit my lip terribly hard. I tried so hard not to cry. My eyes became blurry from tears that I was desperately trying to hold back. This was all just too much.

I didn't ask for this.

A lone tear escaped. It slid down the side of my face and dribbled into my ear. I rubbed my ear against my shoulder to get the wetness out, but it wasn't really working.

Matt faced me again, holding a unsealed beaker and a dropper filled with my blood. The beaker had a purple, swirling mass of something. It wasn't exactly a gas, but it wasn't a liquid either. It looked almost...alive.

He plastered a giant grin on his face. "Feast your eyes on this!" he said, he smashed the tip of the dropper into the beaker. At first, nothing happened, but then Matt squeezed the end of the dropper. A tiny drop of my blood splashed into the beaker.

The reaction was so immediate, it was almost scary. The purple mass shook violently inside the glass container as a change occurred. The purple substance melted into black and became a liquid. It kept moving though, swirling and shifting, almost as if it was trying to break the glass.

"That, my dear, was raw negative chaos energy. When mixed with positive chaos energy, a reaction occurs. The change is immediate," Matt said eerily, "and deadly."

"Not for the person being infected," he went on, "but for anyone around them. The darkness will consume your body, leaving you with a shell of pure hatred. You won't be able to control yourself as the negative energy floods your system and you will be unstoppable. You will be able to defeat anything that stands in your way. It will be incredible!"

I stared at him. This was wrong on SO many levels. "Hey doc?" I asked. I went on without waiting for an answer. "If I were you, I'd release me this very second, or some very serious things are gonna go down," I threatened.

He chuckled and turned back towards his table. He, of course, didn't answer my question. It was obvious it was an empty threat. What was I gonna do, anyways? Scream insults and spit blood in his face?

I don't know how long I lay there on that cold, hard, and uncomfortable table. It seemed like hours. Maybe it was. I was so bored, I started making a list of adjectives to describe the table. I was on the word 'table-ish', seething with rage, and running out of options, when he spoke again.

"I don't have any of my professional tools with me; I hope you won't hold that against me, so I'll just make do with what I have here." Matt turned around dramatically. In his hand was a sharpened, sparkling silver drill.

With a very sharp point.

Every nerve in my body fired off their warning bells. I screamed, kicking and fighting the ropes that bound me to my death.

He was going to rip me apart. There wasn't going to be an operation. It was going to be my dead body flooded with negative chaos energy and controlled by a psychopathic doctor.

"Hold still! This will only hurt a little," Matt teased, bringing the drill closer to my stomach. I fought harder. I screamed louder and louder, willing my vocal chords to keep pressing. I shoved him back with my knees as much as I could, but he just kept coming back.

The drill was half a foot away from plunging into my intestines. It was a grotesque image; one that shot fear through every nerve in my body. I was terrified. I was going to die.

"GET OFF OF ME!" I screeched over and over. I gasped for breath to scream again, and then I heard something. There was someone outside. A shadow crossed in front of the basement windows, confirming my suspicions. There was the faint sound of rustling leaves from outside.

"Hello?" Someone called. "Hellooooo?"

Matt let out a cry of frustration and moved the drill away from my vitals. Even though the threat was temporarily gone, I kept screaming my lungs out. His eyes bore into mine.

Matt turned back towards his little table thing, and grabbed another tool. I got ready to fight again, but he didn't come. Instead, he set the drill and what I could now identify as an electric saw in the empty space between my bound feet.

With a final glance at me, he started up the creaky stairs to my left, mumbling, "Stupid girl won't cooperate...something to shut her up...then whoever that...darn people..."

As soon as he was out of sight, I started struggling like a maniac. I pulled. I twisted. I fought. Nothing worked. The ropes were too think and tied too tight.

My whole system was on overdrive. I was NOT going down like this! It was scary to think of Paige, finding my sliced, dead body floating facedown in the river...

"NO!" I shouted, a little louder than intended. Suddenly, I realized Matt had taken my chaos emerald and all of my other possessions, like my contacts and a bit of cash.

I payed special attention to the saw at my feet. Then I got an idea. Before I could talk myself out of it, I pressed the button that started the saw up with some part of my leg. It whirred insanely.

I carefully pushed the saw close to my left ankle. I aimed as best I could at this angle, and pressed forward.

There was a drilling noise and then the rope around my ankle was snapped off. I breathed a sigh of relief and started to work on the other one. This one was easier because I had a free foot to help me instead of my knees.

The rope around my other ankle released its hold. I shimmied the saw onto my stomach and then next to my left wrist using my body. I had to lean painfully and move my arm back and forth to get the saw to actually cut through this time.

The rope snapped and fell to the floor. I heard pounding footsteps on the stairs. Out of time, I simply forced my other hand out of the rope now that I was in a position where that was possible.

Matt was fuming mad when he saw me free. In his hands was a roll of duct tape, obviously going to be used on my mouth.

This was the point where things got deadly.

He lunged towards me, stretching out the duct tape in attempt to tape my arms to my sides.

I grabbed the drill from that stupid metal table next to me and switched it on. He dodged the blow I tried to send and countered with a nice kick to my shins. For an old guy, he sure fought well.

I didn't want to hurt him. All I wanted to do was get out alive, with no one hurt, and nothing more. I sprinted around the examination table and grabbed the bucket of dripping water.

I turned abrubtly. He nearly plowed into me, but I didn't stop. I threw the bucket of water at him, aiming for his eyes.

Matt screeched and reeled back. I slammed the bucket over his head and he was temporarily blinded.

Now, I've never been too shy about crotch shots. If kicking someone in the no-no zone saves your life, then go for it. And he was wide open.

He screamed in pure agony, and I actually felt bad for a fraction of a second. That was before he plunged a medical saw into my shoulder.

I didn't hold it back. My cry pierced the air and ricocheted off of the cement walls. And guess what? Matt smiled. A big, wide one that covered his whole face. It was an evil smile, of course. That's the part that made it even more scary.

I backed away from him slowly. The damage wasn't too bad, at least from what I could tell. I was definately not a doctor, so I had no freaking clue what part was harmed. Definitely some muscle damage, maybe even some nerve or vein damage.

The pain hurt like heck. Blood dribbled down my arm, leaving a sticky, wet trail.

I looked up from my blood stained shirt (That's three ruined shirts so far, folks! I'm on a roll!) just in time to see Matt charge me. I used the drill to block his blow and took off behind me. I continued crossing around the table until I reached his own medical stand.

Using quick thinking, I grabbed Matt's tray of medical tools. I turned abrubtly once again and shot the tools, tray and all, towards his face.

He yelped slightly, but all it did was slow him down. I needed to get out of there, and soon.

I could spot the chaos emerald now, as well as my speed-contact case. He apparently had taken them both from me earlier. They were hidden behind the tray of tools. Since I had spilled them all over the floor, I had a clear view of my possessions.

I ran towards them. Getting my hands on a chaos emerald would help dramatically.

Immediately after I reached my items, I took off running again. I didn't want to engage in combat. I was a little rusty and I would likely get hurt. Well, more than I already was.

As I ran around the basement, I opened my contact case and carefully put my contacts in my eyes. Familiar green and purple numbers flashed around the edges of my vision with my stats.

Suddenly, something hit me from behind. I fell forward and hit the ground hard. I turned to see Matt gripping my leg tightly. He was pulling me towards his table, where a glinting drill lay. He stretched to reach for it, while I kicked and thrashed to keep him from getting to it.

Matt let out a groan of frustration and let go of my leg. While he got hit hands on the drill, I shakily stood up and searched frantically for a weapon.

Matt's scattered tools laid on the ground near me. I grabbed the first thing I saw-a knife. A wave of nausea passed over me, but I drove it down inside me, not to be visited again.

I knocked over a roller cart. It clattered to the floor behind me. I heard Matt crash down on top of it, so I took off towards the stairs.

The first floor looked exactly the same as I had left it. Everything was in order. It looked like a normal, old-guy house.

With a murder basement.

I sprinted to the front door. I could hear Matt thundering up the stairs after me. I reached the door and jerked. As suspected, it was locked. I pulled harder, and the whole darn doorknob fell off in my hands.

Gotta hide gotta hide gotta hide, I yelled to myself. I bolted towards the sitting area and shut myself in an old, wooden chest. There were a couple books with worn covers shoved in the bottom, but otherwise, the chest was empty.

I shut the lid as gently as I could and the lay back, so I was flat. Images of me on the table flashed through my mind. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure Matt could hear it. I propped myself up on my elbows slightly and the images faded, but the fear never left my body.

I could barely see my shoulder in the darkness. All I could make out was a dark red stain melting onto my shirt. Plus there was intense pain. A lot of it.

The chest was small and smelled of wood, newspapers, and a faint hint of anesthetics. I was very cramped. The chest was my width, but definitely not my length. I had to scrunch sideways and curl my legs towards my stomach to fit.

I heard footsteps. Matt's gait was off; it was slightly spastic. I knew I had hurt him. I shot a quick glance at the knife that was still in my hands. I looked away, my hands starting to clench.

The footsteps came closer towards me. I held my breath and didn't dare to move. Anything, any sound in the slightest, could give me away. I didn't realize until then how quiet it was in the house. It was way to silent for comfort.

I wanted to hum, to sing, to drum a rhythm out on the side of the wooden chest. Anything that would make music or noise. Music was comforting. It meant everything to me. I just wanted to do something to ease the silence.

I was starting to realize how much this chest resembled a coffin.

Maybe you don't understand my fear. Imagine some creepy 50 year old racoon trying to drive a drill into your heart. Not scary? Okay, I get that. I escaped, after all. But see, look at the situation I'm in now. I'm stuck in a chest with no escape routes, complete silence, and the slightest move I make could lead to my discovery. And once I'm discovered, there isn't anywhere I can go. All Matt has to do is stab me to death with some horrid tool he probably got in the garage while I'm trapped in my 'coffin'.

Scary now? Yeah. That's what I thought.

It took me a minute to realize the footsteps had faded as Matt disappeared into another room. I knew it was time to make a decision. Stay in my wooden death trap of doom, or cautiously come out and find a way to escape. Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!

I painstakingly opened the lid of the chest an inch. Matt was in the room across the hall. I could see his shadow disappear into a doorway, although I didn't see his form myself.

I longed for Paige. If she were here, I'd stand up. I wouldn't hide like a coward. We'd kick butt together, like we'd always dreamed.

I shut the lid slowly and lay there for a minute, fingering the knife. I could never bring myself to harm Matt. Sure, I could destroy thousands of robots, but I could never kill someone. I'm not a murderer.

I finally convinced myself to get out. I definitely wanted to check and see where he was first, though. I put my hand on the base of the chest and pushed.

And...nothing happened.

I frowned and pushed harder. Still nothing. I heard a small click, followed by metal turning. I didn't have to see to know that it was the sound of a key, brass from the sound of it, turning in a lock.

"I found you," a voice whispered. That's when the world went upside down.

**This is definitely where I got ideas from the game Heavy Rain. I hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to leave a comment telling me what you think or a favorite :D I'd love to hear from you guys! I really would! This is about the chapter length we should be having from now on. (I think) The chapters will definitely be longer and with more action. This is an adventure book, after all. The main conflict will become evident soon, so don't worry! Love you all!**

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_So,who wants to go to the doctor now? Anyway, do all those things mentioned. It will cause some majorly girly screams. Now Im gonna finish uploading._

_-Owlwyng :3_


	9. Confronting Shadow

**I don't have much time guys. Just enjoy the chapter!**

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_I don't either. Just going to start the story._

_-Owlwyng :3_

-Confronting Shadow-

-Chapter 8-

"Are you kidding me?" Paige squealed excitedly. Tails shook his head and extended his hands again.

"IT'S EVEN THE SAME COLOR AS MADDIE'S SHOES!" she exclaimed, accepting the black and blue hoverboard from Tails's grip.

"I thought since Maddie got speed shoes, I should make you something too. It's pretty much hyped up Extreme Gear that I designed myself. I hope you like it!" Tails said.

"I don't like it," Paige said simply. Tails's face fell in disappointment. "I freaking love it!" She scooped him in one of her enormous hugs. The fox smiled and let himself get sucked into the hug.

He had figured out pretty quickly that Paige hugged A LOT. Plus, once she had you in a hug, she wouldn't let go for a while. So Tails had learned to accept the hugs. Which, wasn't as easy as it sounds, because Paige's hugs squeezed every breath you had out of you. It was like she was going to die if she let go.

"I'm sure Sonic wouldn't mind taking you for a test run before we go."

"But shouldn't we get the Master Emerald back?"

"Of course! I don't think ten minutes is going to affect that much though, don't you think?"

Paige stared into the distance, where rolling black clouds were ominously drawing closer. "I guess not," she replied, smiling wide.

Tails and Paige found Sonic lounging the 'V' of a tree, lazily letting leaves blow away in the breeze.

"Yo, Sonic!" Paige called up to him. Sonic didn't jump or act startled. He just rolled over and replied, "Sup, Paige?" with a cocky grin.

He looked from Paige to the hoverboard, then to Tails, and back to the hoverboard. "Let's go!" Sonic said, jumping happily down from the tree.

Minutes later, Paige was teetering back and forth on her hoverboard with Sonic running full speed up ahead a ways. She was getting the feel of riding. It was almost like surfing, but there was no water.

Tails explained that the hoverboard worked by finding her center of gravity. Every time she moved, the board would adjust to her weight and calibration to help her not fall off.

"This is awesome!" Paige cried excitedly. Her hair whipped crazily behind her. Her clothes weren't wet from the river anymore, since she'd been moving around enough to dry them off. It felt really good to zoom around. Now she understood why Maddie took off with her shoes for a run so often.

Maddie never ran with her speed shoes in busy, public places back home. Most of the time, she would take back roads until she reached her Papa's farm several cities over. Paige had demanded to go with her sometimes. Maddie would usually tell her no, but sometimes she'd grin and say, "Hold on tight!"

Paige loved to watch her run around at the farm. Most of the cows would scatter but a couple would try to charge her. Although Paige always wanted to run around on her own, Maddie was firm about Paige never using her speed shoes.

Now that Paige had her own hoverboard, she could ride around all she liked. She grinned to herself, letting her body react on impulse. She swayed gently to control the hoverboard, holding her arms out with slightly bent elbows and knees to keep herself steady. Paige was getting the hang of it pretty quickly. She had always been a fast learner.

She was the one that saw it first. A shadow, silent and black, running along beside her. Paige could see her shadow and Sonic's just up ahead. So then, who's shadow was that?

Paige shifted her body slightly so she was standing almost backwards to see who was following them. What she saw surprised her, and made her extremely happy at the same time. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

He was here. He was actually here. Somehow though, this wasn't at all what she imagined. Shadow's fierce red eyes were staring, no, glaring her down. And yet, even then, she still wanted to wrap her arms around him and hug him.

Paige whistled to Sonic, who slowed down slightly so he was next to her. "Look who's joined the party!" she murmured to him. He turned his head to glance behind him and grinned.

"Hey Shadz!" Sonic called cheerfully, running stride for stride with Shadow's skates. Shadow said nothing, only stared curiously at the pair.

Paige shifted her body and maneuvered her hoverboard so she was on the other side of Shadow. He looked back and forth between the two of them, as if he didn't understand why she was here.

_He's looking for Maddie, not me_, Paige thought suddenly. _They're after Maddie._ She looked uneasily to Sonic, hoping he could read her expression somehow, but he didn't even turn in her direction.

"I'm Paige," she stated, moving slightly in front of him. "Can I give you a hug?"

"No."

"Who cares?" Paige exclaimed and threw her arms around him. Miraculously, Shadow was still able to run, and Paige could still keep her hoverboard on track.

Pure shock registered on Shadow's face. He looked like he was about to punch her, especially since his hand was cocked back, ready to swing, but he didn't. His face was calculated and focused.

Paige was having a mini victory-spaz-insanely-amazed inside dance party. First off, she had heard him say something. Like, actual WORDAGE people! Second of all, she was hugging him. Shadow's chest fur was amazingly soft. She nuzzled her head against his fur. She just wanted to stand there and cuddle him all day, if she could.

Which she couldn't, because at that moment, Shadow turned sharply left, right in front of Sonic. This caused Sonic to ram into him, sending the blue blur wheeling backwards. Then, Shadow slammed Paige right into a tree.

She cried out in pain and shock. She tried to say something, but she didn't have any breath in her lungs to do so. Paige was a very determined soul, though, and she pulled herself up from the ground. Bark and lichen stuck to her skin, and a large red gash stained her forehead. Paige smiled her 'You're so dead' grin and advanced towards Shadow.

Shadow simply returned the grin and sprinted off in the other direction. She dusted herself off, grabbed her surprisingly undamaged hoverboard, and darted after him without so much as saying a word to Sonic.

Shadow knew the girl was chasing him. He didn't have to look to know. He kept running through the jungle, hoping to lose her. He was certainly much faster than her, but that girl was darn persistent.

Shadow was deep in concentration. The ebony hedgehog knew he had amnesia, and he often did forget vital information. Doctor Eggman often had to remind him of crucial things. It annoyed Shadow a lot. He hated having to rely on others for his own memories. He much preferred working solitary, alone, all by himself. How could anyone ever want to work with others? Especially with that cocky blue faker?

Working for someone else, however, he didn't mind. It wasn't cooperation. It was a choice. Shadow could easily backstab Eggman if he wanted to, but he didn't. He'd let Sonic get rid of Eggman as he always did.

One thing bothered him. Doctor Eggman had asked him to get Maddie for him-something about her energy theory-but that wasn't Maddie. Shadow didn't understand what it was about young girls, but for some reason, they seemed to leave a lasting imprint on him. Anyways, the girl with Sonic wasn't her. He could tell from the first time he stared into her face.

Shadow remembered every feature of Maddie's face, determined and outgoing, yet terrified and inward. She had a sort-of-long face and a smile that was slightly crooked.

This girl's, however, was different. She had a rounder face, with brown eyes that lit up like stars in the sky every time she smiled. Her light brown hair was cut short and she had bangs that swooped across her forehead. She was taller and tanner than Maddie was, and she had a face that seemed older than twelve. But Shadow knew that even if Maddie had redone her hair, it still wouldn't be the same girl.

There was a dull thud behind him. He turned to see the tip of Paige's hoverboard slam into a tree, sending her spiraling out of control. _Good_, he thought.

Seizing the upper hand of the situation, Shadow turned right, then once he was out of her view, he turned around. She'd never expect him to be going the opposite way. He chuckled to himself.

He was surprised when he ran smack dab into Sonic. It was unexpected, having a moment of triumph and then it being thrown back in his face. He felt like a fool. He would NOT stand for it.

Shadow bared his teeth and attacked. He let his anger and rage seize control. The black and red hedgehog fought for all he was worth, letting every ounce of strength he had in him go out forcefully through his fists.

Sonic, however, was having a grand old time. Fights always filled him with energy. He enjoyed the thrill and the danger of the battle! He let his foot connect easily with the side of Shadow's chest, following up with a punch to the face from the other direction, sending Shadow in a spin.

Shadow growled and rebounded quickly. He shot a chaos spear in his direction. Sonic went flying backwards into a nearby tree.

Paige, seeing this happen, careened her hoverboard smoothly next to him and picked the blue hedgehog up as she passed by, flashing a smart grin towards Shadow. Seconds later, Sonic and Paige were both advancing towards him together, one on each side.

Shadow cursed to himself. He didn't have time for this. Not that it was a challenge. Certainly not! He could defeat both of them easily!

He put on a burst of speed and left the insane girl and the cocky faker behind him.

Paige was a little shaken up. She knew Shadow better than any Sonic character. She had drawn him who knows how many times and her walls were plastered with art of him. As if that weren't enough, she had literally hundreds more pictures on her computer.

Paige knew from the bottom of her heart that Shadow would be different. Yet, when she saw him in person, there was something, what's the word...almost disappointing about him. She wanted him to be a cuddly little murder hedgehog. No, not a hedgehog, but HER cuddly little murder hedgehog.

Paige narrowed her eyes. She would have Shadow not hate her if it were the last thing she ever did. With a new determination, Paige pushed her hoverboard to go as fast as it possibly would, then she went even faster.

Sonic was running stride for stride with Shadow. He knew that Paige, little crazed thing that she was, would catch up soon enough. He just didn't want to lose the ebony hedgehog in all of the leaves. Angel Island was beautiful this time of year, but that wasn't exactly a good thing right then because it made it difficult to keep chase.

Eggman had kept kind of quiet since Maddie left Mobius, and that troubled Sonic a bit. Well, it made Tails and Amy worried. That was the part that troubled him. He hated seeing his friends like that.

He knew the doctor would pop up soon enough, though, striking back with some evil plan that was destined to be stopped. Sonic was actually looking forward to it!

After a minute of chase, Shadow led him to a ravine. He could see the ground fall away in front of him and reappear a distance away, definitely too far to jump.

That's when Sonic noticed the bridge. Green and alive, the suspension bridge was made completely out of vines and spanned the entire gap of the crevice from one side to the other. It seemed stable...ish. Well, he thought daringly. I'll never know 'til I see for myself!

Shadow must have had the same idea in mind because he made straight for the bridge. Sonic could hear Paige's hoverboard getting closer and he knew she was nearby.

The two hedgehogs reached the bridge at nearly the same time, Shadow slightly ahead. The thick vines held their weight and barely even sagged.

It was then that Sonic realized just how far down the ravine went. Jagged rocks lined the edges of the crevice, and little vines snaked their way through cracks in the stone wall. The ravine itself was so deep that he couldn't see the bottom. It was just a hazy cloud of mist deep below.

The bridge was wide and very long, probably about forty or fifty feet from one side to the other. The vines were a luscious shade of green and thick, about as thick around as a traffic pole.

Shadow steadily stopped in the middle of the bridge, but kept his back to Sonic. He took his famous pose and crossed his arms, intent on staring at a certain piece of fruit hanging from an insignificant tree.

Meanwhile, across the jungle, Tails clawed to get a grip on the flying machine. He grasped firmly onto the side and pulled himself onto the hovercraft, eyes firmly locked on the large ring with two chaos emeralds encrusted into emerald shaped slots on the sides. After pulling himself, he leaped towards Eggman and held on for dear life.

"Let go of me, you flying furball!" Eggman ranted, attempting to pull the fox off of his face. Tails only clung on harder. He held onto anything he could-such as Eggman's mustache-as the hovercraft flew wildly through the jungle since no one was paying attention to the controls at the moment.

The egg-shaped scientist managed to pry Tails off of his face. Not wanting to fall off the machine, the fox gripped the strange ring instead. They continued to fly wildly through the jungle next to a dangerously ominous looking crater to their right that was amazingly deep.

"Give...me the...ring!" Tails grunted as he tugged.

"Never, you nosy nuisance!" Eggman countered. With the kitsune off of his face, he could see where they were flying. He yelped in surprise when he saw their course was leading them straight into a large jungle tree.

Eggman abruptly let go of the ring and grabbed the control stick. Everything happened so fast that it was impossible to register clearly.

Just like in a game of Tug-of-War, Tails went flying off of the hovercraft when Eggman stopped pulling against him on the ring. As Tails fell off, Eggman pushed the control stick hard to the left and reached out to grab the ring at the same time.

The result was crazy. The hovercraft grazed the side of the tree and sent it crashing to the ground, pieces scattering every which direction. Eggman was ejected out of his smashed hovercraft and went flying into a bush.

Tails, wasn't as lucky. He went slamming head-first into a thick tree, knocking him completely unconscious, and sending him spiraling out over the side of the cliff and down towards the bottom of the ravine. He fell down and out of sight, only a few yards away from where Sonic, Paige, and Shadow stood confronting each other on the bridge.

**OOOOH DRAMATIC! See you guys tomorrow! **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_I love you guys and can't wait to see you tomorrow,but I'm going to crash. Good night._

_Bai!_

_-Owlwyng :3_


	10. Collars Are For Dogs, Not Hedgehogs

**Hello everyone! This is finally the chapter where the main conflict comes into play. Eggman shows us just how dangerous he really is, and things get interesting.**

**Happy reading!**

**- Epicsonicfan :D**

_This chapter is pretty interesting. I mean..read the title. Something is definitely gonna happen._

_- Owlwyng :3_

-Collars Are For Dogs,

Not Hedgehogs-

It annoyed me that I couldn't see anything. I could hear everything, every grunt of struggle, every shout of pain, yet I was powerless to do anything about it.

The battle was so short that I almost convinced myself I had imagined it. Then came a voice, loud in the quiet space, echoing in the house.

"Maddie?" a new voice asked. I realized I was holding my breath, so I slowly let it out.

"In here!" I called back.

"Where?"

"The old chest in the sitting room." I heard padded footsteps and some shuffling.

"I still don't know where you are!" I let out a frustrated moan and started banging on the side of the chest.

A second later, I heard Knuckles pound back on the side as well. "Well, I'm a genius!" he joked happily.

"Really? No way!" I chimed back sarcastically. Knuckles laughed and tried to open the chest.

"Matt locked it. I think he had the key on him somewh-" I didn't have time to finish my sentence before Knuckles smashed the lid to smithereens. Splinters of wood flew every which direction, including towards my face.

"You idiot," I mumbled louder than I intended to. He put a hand behind his head and shrugged, never taking that dumb smirk off his face.

Knuckles extended his hand. He took it in mine and helped me out of the old chest. As soon as I had stepped out, I hugged the red echidna. It had been a long time since I had seen him.

"Good to see ya, kid," Knuckles greeted with a sigh of remembrance.

"You too, Knux." We held each other in a long embrace and then released, both of us smiling ear to ear.

After that, I looked around me to survey the damage. I noticed Matt first. He was slumped in a corner, clearly unconscious. He had some cuts and bruises, but nothing looked too serious. I wasn't sure whether to be happy or upset. Compassionate thing I am, I chose to be upset.

I could definitely tell Knuckles had been here. The front door was smashed in completely, leaving only the hinges in the door frame. Chairs were thrown away from tables, pictures were hanging crooked on their nails or tossed on the floor, and upholstery was torn with stuffing bulging out from the tear.

"Dang," I spoke aloud. "When you plot a rescue, you sure go all out!" My gaze shifted to Matt again. "Can we put him somewhere else? I don't want him to cause any more damage...to me or anyone else. Ever." Knuckles frowned, sighed, and slung Matt over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

As I stepped over a fallen curtain rod, I wondered how this experience had helped me. I learned that I could perform chaos heal with an emerald and that my blood was rich with chaos stuff. Apparently, if I was mixed with raw negative energy-as weird as that sounds-then I would turn into some monster.

"I hope you know I chose you over the Master Emerald." Knuckles said softly.

"Awww," I teased, "you're so sweet! Thanks, Knux." I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "My hero!" His cheeks burned redder than he already was and he cleared his throat awkwardly. I gave a playful laugh and turned for the door.

"You're welcome?" Knuckles squeaked almost as a question. I laughed and with a glance over my shoulder, I sauntered down the broken steps to the street.

Once Knuckles joined me after dropping Matt at a mental hospital or something, I started up the conversation once more. "I bet something happened the Master Emerald, right?" I asked. Knuckles opened his mouth to speak but I started talking again before he could. "Wait, wait, let me guess, Eggface took it?"

"Yeah."

"Gee, I wonder what "genius" plan he has this time. As if stealing the emerald is super original..." I trailed off and looked at the various shops around the crowded streets. We were in the middle of the town by now; it was definitely the busiest place. I loved how there were different levels of civilization. Boulder Bay was more of a village, this place was a town...

Speaking of which, where is 'this place'? I wondered. A conveniently located sign to my left, in very bold letters, read: JASON'S JEWELRY, THE FINEST JEWELS IN PINE CREST! I cocked my head. It was a funny name for a town since there weren't any pines, much less trees at all.

"...need our help." I heard Knuckles say.

"What?"

"You weren't paying attention, were you?"

"Lost in thought I guess."

"You guess?"

"Okay fine!" I cried. "Just repeat what you said again, please." Knuckles sighed and crossed his arms.

"Paige, Sonic, and Tails are following Eggman. I think he has a base somewhere on Angel Island." I opened my mouth to protest. "Don't ask, I don't know how he built it without me knowing. Anyways, they're going to follow him and see if they can get the Master Emerald back. I was thinking we should head over there and see if they need our help," Knuckles finished.

"Sounds like a plan, Stan. Let's rock and roll!" I exclaimed, happily pulling out my white chaos emerald.

"You're not planning on using that, are you?" Knuckles inquired. I bumped into a passing pedestrian. "Sorry!" I apologized quickly.

"The only way to get better at something is to practice. What better way then to actually try it over and over?" I answered, sitting down on the grass at the edge of the main square to tie my shoelaces.

"Maddie, I don't think you should chaos control unless it's necessary..." insisted Knuckles. "And why are you tying your shoes if you don't have laces?" he added.

I looked down at my speed shoes to find, in fact, he was right. They didn't have laces. I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "Nervous habit. Sorry!"

"You ARE worried!" Knuckles exclaimed. "I knew it!"

"Who wouldn't be?" I snapped.

"An actual hero! Which you're not! You're just a kid!" I had no reply. The words brought silence for a minute that seemed to last an eternity. After a long quiet time, I cleared my throat.

"Hold on to me," I demanded softly, my voice barely above a whisper. Knuckles, surprisingly, did as he was told. With tension fuming in the air, I held the chaos emerald of illusion once more.

"Chaos control!" My voice rang out in the square, steady and calm, but louder than I intended. Heads turned and people murmured through out the town. There were some cheers, a few shouts, and some startled cries like:

"She's here!"

"John, take a picture!"

"The Chosen One!"

It was a little nerve wracking. I didn't have time to dwell on it though. The emerald was serving its purpose and before long, Knuckles and I were gone in a flash of light, leaving the bewildered crowd behind.

To chaos control somewhere, you have to envision that space, to feel it with all your heart, every fiber of the memory you grasp of that place. Since I remembered Angel Island as a half dead place of winter, and the contributing fact that I had no idea where Paige, Sonic, and Tails were, I couldn't just think of that place and chaos control there. So I decided to try a little experiment.

I imagined seeing through Paige's eyes. I was there with her. It wasn't like I could see everything as she was. No, not like that. More like...her memory that was built of the place was being sent to me so I could imagine it. That's honestly the closest as I can describe it. But let's not break the fourth wall here, shall we?

My plan worked...kinda. Knuckles and I chaos controlled nearby. I could tell from the loud voices shouting through the jungle. When we landed, Knuckles had to hold me. I collapsed into him, exhausted, absolutely drained of all energy.

I wished that I could just chaos control all over to my heart's content, but noooo. My body just HAD to act like it was going to die each and every time! It really irked me.

It didn't take very long to get my strength back. My muscles shook a bit, but I was ready and roaring.

"Come on!" Knuckles encouraged. "Their voices are this way!" He gestured up ahead. I nodded in agreement, having nothing to say.

As we headed towards the voices, Knuckles chatted with me occasionally. "I called Rouge on the com-link earlier. She may be a jewel thief, but that means she's good at finding jewels too."

"I bet she can help you locate the Master Emerald," I reassured him.

"That's what I was thinking."

"You? Thinking?" I mocked and started clapping slowly.

"Ha-ha. Very funny," Knuckles replied, grinning. I realized that I knew Knuckles better than anyone else in Mobius, other than Sonic or maybe Tails. We had just gotten a lot of bonding time, whether that had been the past few hours or from my last visit. He was my mentor and the only person who truly understood my abilities.

We were a team now.

There wasn't a tree line or anything, no abrubt place where the trees simply stopped. But the trees became more scarce, and I knew why once I saw the bridge.

A large crater gaped in front of me. It was deep, REALLY deep, and seemed to echo forever into the darkness below. One thing I thought was amazingly cool: There were giant leaves big enough to stand on and large enough to support even my weight scattered around the bridge and ravine area. The canyon looked almost like a rip in the ground, as if some giant had slashed a knife through the Earth. It was a beauty of Mobius and it looked surprisingly pretty.

Paige was standing on a green bridge made of thick vines that went across the entire ravine. It was holding her's, Sonic's, and Shadow's weight pretty well, so I figured two more bodies wouldn't make that much of a difference. The bridge seemed sturdy.

"Paige!" I yelled and sprinted for the bridge. She turned at my call just as I dashed into her arms. We embraced for a moment.

"I knew you'd be okay. I knew you could make it here safe," Paige murmured as we hugged. We pulled away from each other. I took my place next to Paige and stood in a defiant matter, standing my ground. Knuckles trotted over on the other side of Sonic.

"Hey, Shadow!" Of course, I got no answer, so I turned to Sonic instead, who was on my other side. "Sup!"

He grinned and gave me a high five. I could hear Shadow growl in annoyance.

"Nice to see you too, Mr. Sunshine," Paige and I said at the same time. We turned to each other and smiled for a second, then my gaze shifted to the sky. A shadow was cast on the ground from above; I noticed a bat-like shape gliding towards us.

Rouge had arrived, but she wasn't alone. She was carrying with her another hedgehog, eagerly searching the ground for Sonic. Amy Rose and Rouge descended from the sky and landed in between Knuckles and Shadow.

Immediately after landing, the pink hedgehog giddily took her place next to Sonic and me. Well, she kinda shoved her way in between us and gave Sonic a giant hug, but that still counts, right?

Rouge smirked and waved a gloved hand at Shadow. Glaring, he turned away from her. "Hi everyone! The life of the party has arrived!" Rouge announced. She put a hand on her hip and walked over to Knuckles.

"Hiya, cutie. I heard you wanted me to find that little emerald of yours." Rouge battered her eyes and put her index finger on his chest, making circles in the fur. "I'm very good at finding things, you know. That pretty little jewel will come right to me."

I rolled my eyes. Somehow I figured there was a deeper meaning behind her words. Knuckles blinked once, twice, then started stuttering.

"Oh...yeah, we'll f-find it..." He coughed and averted his eyes to anywhere but her. Paige choked back laughter and Sonic started snorting.

Rouge shifted her glance around the circle we had created. She noticed Paige and her face lit up like a child does when it gets a puppy for the first time.

"Hi, hon. I'm Rouge the Bat." She gushed to Paige. Then she turned to me. "Who's this pretty little girl you've brought with you?"

"I'm Paige," she stated simply, "and I'm older than she is." Rouge blinked back surprise and put on her star smirk again.

"Would'a never known. Welcome to the team!" Rouge said. Paige grinned and gave her a hug.

I smiled and surveyed the group. It looked like we had everyone here now. Our group had turned more into a line than a circle now. Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge, Sonic, Amy, Paige, and myself lined up next to each other. That was everyone, wasn't it? Wait, I thought. No, I'm forgetting someone. Tails. Where's Tails?

"Hey guys? Has anyone seen Tails recently? He's not here and-" my words were suddenly cut short when a flurry of motion exploded.

Eggman was suddenly there. One moment he wasn't, and then BOOM! I don't know how he managed to sneak up on us. It seemed nearly impossible. Impossibleness set aside, I started to rush him, but something in his hand made me stop.

There was a gold ring in his hands. It looked somewhat like a power ring...but different somehow. One thing caught my eye immediately. Two chaos emeralds, the blue and the yellow ones, were encrusted in the sides. No, not encrusted, more like slid into certain slots. Sure enough, I saw more chaos emerald-shaped holes around the ring, seven in all.

I was too busy studying the ring to realize what he was going to do with it in time.

Mistakes. All stupid mistakes.

Before I could register what was going on, Eggman's had forced the ring around Sonic's neck. Instantly the thing started glowing brightly, causing everyone to shield their eyes with their hands and arms and back away. There was an agonizing scream that made me want to curl up in a ball and shrink into nothing.

When the light faded, the ring had shrunk around Sonic's neck to fit his size, like a collar. It was still glowing dully, but not as much as before. Sonic's eyes snapped open and he fell to his knees, fighting frantically with the collar.

Sonic stared at us from the ground, eyes screaming with fear and pure agony, pleading, pleading for relief and comfort. Something I couldn't give because I didn't even know what was going on.

Paige was so shocked at Eggman's sudden appearance that she stood frozen in one spot, her mouth open in a silent O that made no sound.

Everyone else was dashing everywhere possible. Some were trying to reach Sonic, others were rushing Eggman, and then Shadow and I were standing still, watching and waiting to see what happened.

Sonic crumpled even farther into the vine bridge, screaming and ripping at the collar that held him. The ring started glowing once more and we were all surrounded by a blinding, unescapable light.

**Poor Sonic : I felt so bad for him while writing this. Also, I'm not able to post the second chapter for tonight. I know, I know. Sorry for the inconvenience! Love you guys!**

**-Epicsonicfan**

**Ps. Extra challenge: can you guess what the collar's purpose is? And just what is Eggman planning? The person who gets the closest guess gets a shout out in my next chapter ^u^ good luck!**

_I totally want to know what you guys think the ring does! Your brilliant, creative, and beautiful minds are going to come up with the best theories. Sorry for only one upload. It will be made up. ^u^ I promise! _

_- Owlwyng :3_


	11. The Battle at the Bridge

**Hey guys! I reached an achievement today! Thanks to gamer097 for being my first story follower! YAAAY! A few of you have commented how interesting the plot is, so I think you're going to like this chapter a lot!**

**I admit, I got carried away, so the chapter is really long. Like REALLY long. But, I feel you guys deserve it since I didn't post a second chapter yesterday.**

**So sorry about that! Thank you so much for sticking with this story. I know it had a long introduction, but now we're into the full action. The battle begins, my friends! IT BEGINS!**

**- Epicsonicfan :D**

_Achievement unlocked!_

_First Follower!_

_My jaw dropped when I saw that. Thank you Gamer097! Anyway,onto the chapter!_

_-Owlwyng :3 _

_-_The Battle at the Bridge-

"Sonic!"

The blue hedgehog yelled in agony again, digging his gloved fingers into his neck so forcefully that he was drawing little trickles of blood, trying to rip the glowing collar off of him.

"Stop! You're hurting yourself!" Amy called to him. She pulled herself to her feet, leaving the others where they were and ran to his side, only to find Paige already there.

Paige was cuddling Sonic, wrapping herself around him. Amy joined her, placing her hands around his wrists. She pulled at them slightly, hoping to pry them away from his neck.

"Get...away!" he snarled at her as he tried to break away from their grip.

"Sonic, I just want to help you!" Amy cried desperately, refusing to leave.

"I'm not leaving here!" Paige agreed.

"Gotta–get it–off!" he growled, then without warning, Sonic slumped over into Paige's arms just as the ring stopped glowing. His head landed on her shoulder. The two girls gazed at him, first in surprise, then concern.

"Sonic?" Amy whispered to him, stroking his quills absently.

"It's only a matter of time now."

Paige turned as much as she could to see Eggman over her shoulder, staring down at the blue hedgehog as he stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps it isn't be as powerful as it should be, but once more emeralds are added, there will be nothing the little annoyance can do."

"You!" Amy called to him, fury and rage building up inside. He inclined his head to her, as if just realizing she was there. "What did you do to Sonic?"

Eggman blinked behind his shaded glasses, then raising his eyebrows, he gave his infamous chuckle, his belly moving up and down. Paige glanced at Maddie, uncertain as to what to do. She was just watching from a distance with a frown on her face.

Smirking, he pointed a finger at Amy before replying, "You don't really think I'll tell you my plans just yet? No, this time, I want my success to be a surprise!"

"Isn't it always," Shadow retorted in his dead pan voice as he glared at the egg-shaped man. At this point, it was hard to tell which side Shadow was on. He wasn't doing anything to harm anyone...but then again, he wasn't helping anyone either. For Paige's sake, Maddie hoped he was on our side.

"Yes-well..." Eggman growled and stamped his foot like a little kid who didn't get his ice cream. "In time you'll find out exactly what has been done. Then the Eggman Empire can finally be realized!"

"Not if we beat the answer out of you first!" Knuckles growled and launched himself at the doctor. Letting out a small yelp of fear, Eggman dodged out of the way. Normally, he would have his hovercraft, but that silly little fox has ruined it when he was trying to get the chaos emeralds. Now he couldn't get away as easily. He had to create a diversion...

Eggman sighed in relief from the dodge just before a foot connected with the front of his face, sending him flying backward. Eggman sat up, holding his nose in pain and wincing. Rouge and Knuckles frowned at him as he lay before them.

The vine bridge was swaying slightly with the motion. Eggman hoped he wouldn't slip through the rails and go flying off into the crater.

The crater, he thought. How could he have forgetten his new pet?

"So, you all want to play, is that it?" Eggman teased, getting to his feet. Knuckles and Rouge both went into a fighting stance while Amy continued to hang on to Sonic, glaring at him. Paige was still holding Sonic as well, a look of terror on her face. Surprisingly, Shadow hadn't made a move toward Eggman. He only continued to glare with his crimson eyes, his arms crossed over his chest in his defiant pose.

"Allow me to introduce my latest creation!" Everyone stumbled a bit as the ground beneath them rumbled and shook. Maddie grabbed on to the vine railing to keep her balance and nearly toppled over the edge. Paige shot a look to her best friend. She had seen this gaze several times before, and now was no different.

_Go for it_, the look said. Maddie nodded to her, agreeing, and for the first time since Eggman showed up, Paige smiled.

Maddie smiled back.

When I looked around, I saw Eggman dashing into the trees on the other side of the bridge, opposite from the way I came.

"Hey!" Knuckles yelled, drawing everyone's attention back to the get-away evil scientist. "Get back here!" He started to dash after him. Another giant rumble made the ground shake and he stumbled.

"Let him go, Knucklehead! He's not important!" Rouge called to him as calmy as she could, her eyes widening in suspense. She was also hanging onto the same vine rope to that I was on to steady herself.

Amy looked worried as another rumble made her hold on tighter to Sonic, nearly knocking them both over the edge.

"Do try to have fun!" Eggman called to them as he took this chance to break out into his odd sprint. He dashed out of sight and into the foliage of the forest.

As if on cue, a robot sprung through the leaves and into the air, swaying slightly as it knocked branches out of its way. Its head tilted back as it cleared the tops of the trees and opened it's mouth wide to let out a long hiss of aggravation.

Paige gasped while Shadow, still watching the entire scene, looked unimpressed, not making a effort to move. Rouge got into her fighting stance while Knuckles balled up his fist, preparing for the upcoming fight. I stared in awe at the huge robot before me, by far the biggest one I had encountered. Fear ripples through my heart. I suddenly felt sick.

_Maybe I should just sit this one out..._

The robotic anaconda's head peered down between the trees, studying the five heroes, as well as Paige and me, before picking it's first target. It hissed loudly and launched itself at Rouge with lightening speed. She barely had enough time to dodge out of the way, getting knocked off her feet as she dove over the vine rail and on to a large, nearby leaf.

The beast shot down through the bridge with enough force to make it sway back and forth. Knuckles backed away while Amy let out a small scream of fright, still clinging on to Sonic.

Paige finally let go of the blue hero and had made her way over to my side. For what seemed like the first time ever, Paige had taken me as her leader. In this situation, I was the older one, the one with more knowledge and guidance. I made a mental note to see her fighting skills. Maybe Sonic could train Paige the way he trained me the last time I visited Mobius.

The crew waited tensefully. The body was still slithering through the rip in the bridge, its head not coming back up to attack yet.

Paige let out a shivering sigh as the tip of it's tail disappeared down the freshly made hole. The robot was skinny, but not enough. The snake's body practically severed the bridge in half. The sides were only holding on by a few strands of the vine railings.

However, it was a suspension bridge and even if it had completely broken it in half, they wouldn't have fallen into the crater and for that, Paige was thankful. Though she was still worried. If it decided to try that again, this time closer to where Shadow stood, the middle would fall for sure...

"You alright, batgirl?" Knuckles called to Rouge.

"Peachy," she said sarcastically as she got to her feet, dusting her front off. She looked up at him then cried out in alarm, "The tail!"

He looked confused for the split second before the tail crashed into his back and sent him flying over the vine railing, disappearing from view.

"Knucklehead!"

"Knuckles!"

The head of the serpent came up just in front of the bridge, its tail swaying from side to side as it hit the railing of the bridge. The bridge swayed again, and the rest of the body went soaring into the air as it shot straight upward. It paused finally and the tail retreated beneath the leaves as it craned its neck down, spotting Rouge again. Before long, it was launching another attack.

Knuckles shook his head to clear the dizziness he felt. One hand was holding the bridge of his nose while the other steadied him as he leaned on the base of a tree.

He was surprised that he hadn't been knocked out. The fall through the leaves wasn't as steep as he thought, but it was still pretty deep. With the exception of being knocked into the tree he was leaning on, he hadn't hit anything else on the way down. He hadn't fallen all the way down into the crater. There was a small ledge-which he was standing on-about ten to twenty feet from the bottom of the bridge.

The ground was covered with moss and dirt. Knuckles could just make out the side of the crater a few feet away, where the walls of trees that blocked on all sides began.

After shaking his head again and convincing himself he could, Knuckles straightened up, then flexed his arms, determined to get back to the fight ensuing above him. He paused when he saw something move a few feet away from him–more than likely a part of the body of that large anaconda.

Knuckles thought about attacking it from below for a moment but decided not to. While it would hold the element of surprise for a second, the snake would come down to the ground and with the cramped space due to the large, thick tree trunks and many stems of those large leaves they'd been walking on, it would be harder to get away without going to the surface of the leaves.

He stuck his right knuckle into a nearby tree as far in as he could before he began to climb.

He had just made it a foot up the tall tree before he heard a muffled cry for help and what seemed like struggling. Knuckles craned his neck to look behind him, frowning as he paused in his climbing. His ears moved as they straightened, straining to listen for the sound again.

He heard it again, the sound of a child struggling and a cry for help.

Knuckles pushed himself off the tree with his feet and back flipped to the ground, his eyes looking from side to side as he heard the sound again. He turned his attention to the left of him and began to jog his way along the ledge, through the maze of tree trunks and leaf stems until he saw a small wreckage wedged between three tree trunks.

The whimpering got louder and he recognized the voice.

"Tails?" Knuckles asked loudly. The struggling sound seemed to stop before he heard, "Knuckles? Is that you?"

Knuckles made his way over to the small wreckage, realizing it was Eggman's Egg...hovercraft...thing... and leapt on top of it. He peered down the other side, seeing Tails, who was trying unsuccessfully to push the machine off of him. Both Tails and his left leg were unfortunately pinned underneath it.

Tails winced and looked up at Knuckles accusingly. "You're adding weight!"

"Oh, sorry kid," Knuckles grumbled sheepishly before leaping off and landing behind him.

"We have to hurry!" Tails started, still trying to push it off of him. "There's something down here! It goes to the surface sometimes but it's only a matter of time before–"

"We've seen it," Knuckles replied, cutting him off. "Eggman's new toy. We gotta get to the surface anyway, Rouge and Amy probably need help, since it doesn't look like that jerk Shadow will help. Plus Sonic's knocked out–"

"Sonic's hurt?" Tails exclaimed with alarm, eyes wide. A look of utter worry overshadowed his face and Knuckles blinked. It was amazing how loyal Tails was to the blue hedgehog. It was almost like he completely forgot about his own situation in favor of Sonic's.

"He's fine, Tails. It's Sonic! He'll pull through," Knuckles reassured. He placed his hands underneath the rather large machine and grunting, began to try and lift it. After a few moments, he gave up, glaring at it.

"It's the trees," Tails announced. "Eggman's hovercraft is wedged between them and the trees are holding it in place." Knuckles looked at the trees and noticed that, in fact, he was right.

"Then we'll just have to fix that, won't we?" Knuckles grinned as he cocked back his arm and with a loud grunt, punched the tree nearest to him.

There was a pause before the tree began to sway away from him in what seemed like slow motion before it went crashing into another tree. A tree domino course weaved it's way around the ledge as the trees fell over on each other.

"That works!" Tails chirped.

Knuckles turned his attention back to the hovercraft, then grunting a bit, lifted it off the small fox. With another grunting cry, he picked it up and tossed it a small ways away from them and into a tree. It landed with a loud crunching and crashing sound.

Knuckles looked down at the tan fox and smirked a bit. "Think you can walk?"

Tails smiled back then slowly stood on his feet with the help of a nearby tree. He made it a half of step before wincing and going crashing back into the ground with a moan of pain. He touched his right ankle and winced again, quickly letting it go.

Knuckles blinked. Sighing, he lifted the small fox up and on his back.

"Ow!"

"Sorry," he grunted as he dug his gloved knuckle into the same tree Tails had used to help himself up then began climbing his way back up to the surface, pausing any time they felt a strong rumble made by the robotic anaconda.

Amy watched as Rouge went crashing into a tree, getting caught briefly in the branches. She let out a cry when the robot attacked again, sending her and the tree crashing through other trees.

Amy could just make out the milky white fur, now splotched with a little crimson, through the leaves. Rouge lifted into the air just before the tail came around and knocked her into another tree.

Amy got to her feet, letting Sonic down as gently as she could. She thought Knuckles would have been back by then but he must have gotten hurt as well. Rouge needed someone's help and fast–and despite what the bat had done in the past, Amy still considered her a friend and didn't want to see her get hurt any worse than she had.

She turned her attention to Shadow who had simply been watching the entire event unfold, leaning against the railing of a good part of the bridge, an indifferent look on his face.

"Why are you just standing around?" Amy snapped at him. He cut his eyes to her.

"Can't you see she needs our help?" she snapped again. He hmphed slightly and turned his attention back to the fight. Amy's frown deepened as her anger rose. She didn't understand why he wasn't helping. _He was on their side, right?_

_Maybe he isn't_, she argued to herself. _Maybe he's just here to make sure everything goes as planned. _Amy took out one of her infamous Piko-Piko hammers, and clutching it in her hand, glared at Shadow again.

"If you want to be that way, then fine! I can't make you fight. But I won't let Rouge die just because you refuse to help!"

She didn't catch Shadow's side glance as she looked back at Sonic. She really hadn't wanted to leave him just in case the robotic snake decided to attack him. He wouldn't be able to defend himself-he was unconscious, after all-and it was obvious Shadow wouldn't help him if it did attack, but Rouge needed someone's aid, and quickly, so it was a risk she would just have to take at the moment.

Taking a deep breath, she jumped over the fragile railing, then onto a leaf, waiting for it to stop swaying before she began running across the leaves towards the anaconda.

Paige and I stood back and watched all of this happen most of time. Not like Shadow, but in a 'I'm going to he helpful and stay out of the way' kind of way.

When Amy took off, Paige rushed towards Sonic. Keeping a sharp eye on the robot, she curled around him again, just in the off chance that he was slightly conscious. She wanted him to be comfortable no matter what.

Paige seemed okay, other than a worried glance at Sonic or a frightened stare towards Amy or Rouge.

"You doin' good?" I asked her. She stared down at Sonic, who was wrapped in her arms.

"I don't matter right now." There was a slight edge to her voice, and I knew she was kinda freaked out.

"You matter all the time."

"Shouldn't I be more concerned about you?"

"Maybe," I answered. "I dunno. I want to make sure you aren't going to have a panic attack or something."

"Yeah, Maddie. I'm going to spaz out and die right here this very second." she quipped sarcastically.

"I care about you."

"I know." The sounds of loud cries and crunching metal sounded around us. We were quiet for a moment, staring at each other, Sonic, and mostly Shadow.

"Oh, great and mighty Chosen One," Paige said suddenly, "would you be so kind as to teach me your fighting skills?" I giggled.

"Oh, humble and noble warrior! I would be honored to give you the skills and wisdom asked of thee!" I responded back, going along. Shadow hmphed in disgust. I stood up from my crouched position next to Sonic and walked over to him until I was standing a few inches from his face.

The air had become slightly cooler with the approaching storm. I could feel his warm breath on my arms. Since he was shorter than me, I had the advantage of staring down on him.

"Why won't you help, Shadow?" I asked. I didn't expect and answer. When he said, "It's none of your concern," it surprised me.

The dark clouds drawing ever closer and the canopy of trees all around left the world shadowed in slight darkness.

"What if Maria were here?" I whispered gently, so very gently. His eyes shot fires of anger and hurt in my direction. "You would do anything in the world for her, right?" I continued softly, daringly. He shoved me away from him forcefully, growling and glaring, but I caught his tiny, almost nonexistent nod.

"She loved you, Shadow," I said, then walked back to my spot next to Paige and kneeled down by Sonic. I knew Shadow wouldn't cave in to my temptations. I just wanted to make him realize that I cared about him. Maybe if he wouldn't save Amy or Rouge, he'd at least save Paige or me. Honestly, I didn't care about myself. I wanted comfort from knowing someone had Paige's back if I ever got into deep trouble.

Shadow seemed like the perfect person to protect my best friend if I ever couldn't.

Things weren't looking too good over with Rouge and Amy. I couldn't see too well, but I could see just enough to tell that the anaconda was winning.

I frowned awkwardly at Paige and lost myself deep into thought.

**Well, I warned you it was long, didn't I? I didn't want to split this into two chapters though. I felt that a battle three chapter long might be a little too much. Eh, I don't know. Writing is a complicated process.**

**I'm still excited to see what you guys think of the collar on Sonic! What's its purpose? How will it affect our blue hero? Take a guess in the comments! Even if you're wrong, I'll include your name in one of my future chapters! ^u^ **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_Things are picking up! Also, are there any mistakes I missed? I'll fix them in a heartbeat._

_- Owlwyng :3_


	12. The End of the Battle

**Hey everybody! Here's another longish chapter. The resolution to the battle is here! Happy reading!**

**- Epicsonicfan :D**

-The End of the Battle-

At the moment, the robot was snapping it's mouth at Rouge fiercely in an effort to get her out of the tree she had landed in. The bat was kicking and returning the viciousness with swift kicks to its head whenever it came too close.

So far, she was succeeding in keeping it away from her while not getting her leg caught in its mouth. It was only a matter of time–she was beginning to look worn down from all the abuse and blood loss she had suffered and the kicks were diminishing in their flare.

Amy took in a deep breath, bracing herself as she leapt into the air and with a loud cry, spun around and swung the mallet with her, sending it crashing into the side of the snake as hard as she possibly could.

This, in turn, got the robot's attention as it swayed from the force. The head tilted back as it hissed in pain before cocking its head down at Amy. Its robotic slitted pupils narrowed and it hissed, launching itself at Amy.

She dove out of the way just in time to see the head disappear into the leaves, making the one leaf she landed on sway wildly. Amy clung on to it as much as she could. The head came darting back up beside it, its tail just disappearing through the leaves as it opened its jaws and launched itself at Amy. She screamed and ducked, the sharp metal fangs just missing her as it went crashing into the tree a way behind her.

Branches and bark fell away from the tree as the snake thrashed around over her head, trying to free its fangs from trunk, tearing it apart in the process. Amy curled up and covered her head with her arms, still clutching her mallet.

A moment later, the snake was finally able to break free. The robot hissed and stared at Amy with what almost seemed like disdain.

She came out of her protective curl and stood to her feet, staring at it with determination before she pulled her arms back, preparing to swing again. But the snake's tail came, literally, out of no where it seemed as it appeared on the other side of her. The clever snake snapped it like a whip and knocked the mallet out of her hands.

Amy tried dodging it, but the mallet ended up smashing into her left hand. Her hand-and herself-screamed in pain and she was forced to grab her left hand with her good right one.

Preoccupied only for a moment, the strangely realistic robot took its chance and prepared to strike, fangs drawn. Amy looked up at the last split second and yelled, preparing to feel immense pain course through her body.

She gasped in surprise when she felt arms wrap around her waist. Amy felt herself being picked up off of the leaf and quickly moved out of the way, so fast that she grimaced as the wind smacked her in the face. She tucked her head into the warm fur of her savior's chest until they came to a complete stop. Then she looked up and blinked.

"Shadow?"

He frowned down at her slightly before he unceremoniously let her go, landing with a small thud straight on her butt.

She rubbed it slightly, then glared at him. She was back on the bridge, right next to Sonic, who was propped up against the opposite railing in a sitting position along with a slightly dazed Rouge.

Paige was still wrapped around Sonic, and Maddie was on the far side of the bridge, away from the robot for the time being.

"Watch them and don't get in my way," he snapped at her before he left in a blur.

Amy frowned after him. Treated like a nuisance–again!

She heard a loud grunt and spun around in time to see Knuckles climb onto the bridge. Tails was on his back and he looked like he was in a bit of pain.

"Oh, what happened?" Amy asked in concern as he sat the small fox next to Rouge, ignoring his cry of pain as he was sat down and turned his attention to the bat.

"Eggman's flying thing fell on him," Knuckles guessed, realizing he didn't actually know what went down. "What happened to batgirl?"

"I'm fine." She grimaced.

"You're bleeding," Knuckles warned, frowning at her side.

"Just a few bumps and bruises. Nothing I can't handle," she replied lazily, trying to wave him off with equal enthusiasm before she just let her hand drop to her side.

Knuckles frowned at her annoyed then turned his attention to Amy. "I'll take care of that piece of junk. Then we'll get them all to to Vanilla's or somethin'."

Amy nodded. Knuckles climbed onto the railing, then leapt off of the bridge and went gliding through the air at the robotic monster, in which Shadow was already in the process of trying to home attack into oblivion. She watched for a moment, then turned her attention back to Tails.

He was rubbing his ankle absent mindedly. Tails stared at the blue hedgehog with worry, who was now slightly slumped over, Sonic's face still caught in pain. He looked up at Amy. "What happened to Sonic?"

"I'm...not sure," Amy admitted, glancing at him. "Eggman put that ring on his neck and it knocked him out."

Tails studied the ring and gasped. "That's the thing I was trying to take from him! It has–"

"Chaos Emeralds encrusted in it, yeah, we know," Rouge cut him off, grimacing in pain slightly as she moved to lay on her side, panting.

Amy frowned at her in worry. This was a time she wished Cream was with them. Sure, she wasn't much for fighting, but the small bunny had all the medical supplies with her and could really help.

In the mean time, Amy put her mallet away, and began tearing at the hem of her dress, until she got a nice strip of it torn off. Tails watched her in confusion until she took the piece and began holding it to the wound on Rouge's side. Putting pressure on the wound and ignoring Rouge's wince of pain, she began to rip off another piece with her free hand. When she was finished, she looked down at her.

"Rouge, do you think you can hold this?" she asked. Rouge took the material in her hand and kept it pressed on her side, wincing slightly.

Then, taking the long strip she was holding, Amy began to wrap Tails's ankle, ignoring the grunts of pain, crashing of trees, and wails of metal crunching behind her.

A small grunt got all of their attention. Paige's eyes widened and she backed away from the blue hedgehog slowly.

They all looked over to see Sonic coming to, grabbing the side of his head and groaning, trying to sit up slowly. The ring began to glow dimly but this time, it didn't seem to effect him as it had before.

"Sonic?" Amy called as she rushed to his side and placed a hand on his back. She helped him sit up.

He looked over at her. "Oh–hey Amy." He paused slightly, frowning in confusion as he looked at her. "Uh...what happened to your dress?"

She blinked then looked down at the torn clothing. Realizing how short it was now, she blushed. "Oh! Tails and Rouge–they needed some help and since Cream wasn't here I um, improvised."

He nodded and gave a faint smirk, but said nothing more. Paige nudged him and grinned. By this time, Maddie had joined the group and stood next to Paige, an interested look present on her face.

Amy helped Sonic to his feet. He stretched slightly and looked from side to side. "What happened to Knux? And...Shadow?"

At that moment, they heard a yell and Knuckles went soaring over their heads. They watched as he went crashing into a tree, landing this time in the branches. It wasn't long before Shadow joined him, landing on him completely with a grunt of annoyance.

"I told you to attack from the left you idiot!" Shadow snarled at the echidna below him. Paige and Maddie looked at each other and started laughing.

"Get off me!" Knuckles snapped, ignoring him as he literally tried punching Shadow off of him. The ebony hedgehog dodged the fist, growled, and returned the favor with a punch of his own to Knuckles's abdomen.

"Geez, could you two knock it off?" Sonic called up to them in a bored tone, his eyes heavy lidded. They both paused to stare down at him, Knuckles in surprise and Shadow in slight fury. "Why are you awake?" Shadow asked angrily.

"I woke up," Sonic snapped sarcastically and Shadow snarled at him. Maddie's gaze locked with Shadow's for a moment. He turned away quickly, but seemed to calm himself slightly.

"Sonic!" Tails cried pointing and the azure hedgehog turned his attention to the mechanical snake, which didn't look as defeated as they might have hoped. A metal fang was missing and he had a few deep dents, but the thing was a lot larger than they realized before. Its body was coiled around several trees, watching the group with narrowed slitted pupils as it's metal tongue flicked out in anticipation.

It focused immediately on Sonic and launched itself forward, disappearing into the leaves.

"Sonic..?" Amy and Paige called with worry, Amy touching his arm again.

He looked over to Amy and then to Paige and winked. "You gotta stop worrying about me. I'm fine!" He pulled out of her grasp and ran swiftly to the end of the entire bridge, anticipating the upcoming fight with a light smirk on his face.

The entire group watched as the anaconda shot through the leaves and swung its head at Sonic fiercely. The blue hedgehog was able to dodge each blow with ease, his smirk widening as his pupils shrank in size, his eyes glazing over slightly.

He didn't notice the tail taking aim and pointing itself at his back before it sped toward him.

"Sonic!" Amy and Tails cried in fear as they watched in horror. Rouge gasped slightly, Knuckles made an effort to move forward, and Shadow landed on the bridge with a thud as he watched Sonic with an indifferent expression though his eyes were troubled. Paige wrapped Maddie in a hug, shielding her eyes away from the sight, burying her face in the crook of Maddie's shoulder since she was taller than her.

Sonic spun around quickly and caught the tail before it could piece his flesh, the tip just inches away from him. The group gasped slightly in surprise.

"Egghead is gonna have to do better than you!" Sonic snarled as the golden ring around his neck began to glow dimly, the emeralds incrusted in it glowing brightly. He took the tip of the tail and launched it forward just in time to catch the snake by the head, sending it straight through the roof of it's mouth, the tip protruding between it's mechanical eyes.

They could all hear the whine of metal as the snake began to sway from side to side. Sonic's eyes followed the movements intently as they narrowed, his smirk deepening.

He wasn't finished yet.

He sprinted forward, leaping into the air once he got to the end of the leaf he was standing on. Then, rolling his body up, he went into a homing attack.

Maddie gasped as he disappeared down the anaconda's throat. Paige had released her and was watching along with the rest of the gang now. The group waited, but all was still and quiet with the exception of the whine of metal as the snake tried in vain to get the tip of the tail to release itself from the roof of his mouth.

"Is Sonic alright?" Rouge asked slowly, wincing slightly in pain as she continued to watch. "He seems a lot stronger than before."

"It's just adrenaline," Knuckles replied just as slow, as he was unsure himself.

"We should help him," Tails began. He started to make an effort to move.

Shadow, who had been glaring previously, opened his mouth to snap at them but was cut off by Sonic bursting through the beast's upper area. Metal debris and oil flew everywhere.

Sonic bounced off the trees and went soaring back through the snake again and again, before giving a final defeat cry. The mecha swayed to the far right and simply, collapsed into the crater with a deafening crash. Leaves, twigs and clouds filled the air in it's wake and after a few moments, all was quiet.

Knuckles's eye twitched while the others peered the best they could over the edge of the vine railing, looking at the large hole that led to darkness.

As if on cue, Sonic burst through cloud of smoke and twirled in the air slightly before landing on one foot on the railing. He still had that wide demented smirk, his fists clutched at his sides, the iris and pupils of his eyes tiny in size while his entire body was covered in black oil, most of it dripping down is face and quills.

The sight was a bit unnerving, to say the least.

"Uh...Sonic? You alright?" Paige asked.

"Fine," he stated matter of factly, that smirk never wavering as he stretched his arms lazily over his head and took a seat on the railing.

"And the collar...it doesn't hurt anymore?" Rouge added.

"Does it look like it hurts?" Sonic retorted in a calm, yet viciously cold tone that could rival Shadow's. Knuckles frowned at him.

"Sonic, she was only asking if you were all right," Knuckles snapped. "When Eggman put it on, you got pretty hurt. She's just worried."

Sonic glared at Rouge for a moment. Then he rolled his eyes, that smirk still not fading. "I don't need that conniving tramp's concern. It hurt, and now it doesn't. Simple as that."

There was a long silence as they all gawked at him. Amy, Paige, and Tails stared in concern, Rouge-a bit too hurt to look angry-glared in annoyance, while Knuckles growled at him. The fact that Sonic was still smirking fueled the anger even more as he clutched and unclutched his fists at his sides.

Shadow was frowning but his eyes were instead, trained on the golden ring around Sonic's neck. Maddie's eyes were averted there too. Something about it seemed...strangely well planned and evil for Eggman.

"Sonic, are you sure you're alright?" Amy insisted and he let out a exsperrated sigh.

"Let's not be so annoying, Rose. Back off," Sonic replied with a voice dripping with annoyance.

Amy looked hurt for a brief second while Paige frowned and Tails gasped slightly. But then Amy frowned herself and touched his arm.

"Sonic, I really think–"

He ripped his arm away from her, the smirk no longer gracing his lips as his expression melted into an annoyance. He snarled and snatched his arm away with such force that Amy stumbled forward. He pushed her back slightly and she landed on her butt. "I said I was fine, now BACK OFF!" Sonic snarled viciously.

There was a shocking silence as Amy turned away from him, her eyes tearing up. She slowly got to her feet and stumbled a few steps away from him, the pain evident on her face.

"What the...?" Maddie heard Paige mumble to her.

"Something's wrong," she mumbled back. Paige gave her best friend a 'well duh' look.

"I..." she began softly. "I should go find Cream." With that, she ran as fast as she could off the bridge.

Rouge and Tails stared after her in concern. Paige and Maddie glanced at each other. Knuckles began to take a step forward, but Shadow stepped in front. He placed his arm out in front of him, making the echidna stop. He was glaring with hard eyes at Sonic, who only raised an eyebrow at him.

"Like something you see?" Sonic asked as he smirked slightly and Shadow's eyes narrowed at the gesture.

"Perhaps you shouldn't treat someone who cares about you like that, faker," Shadow stated matter of factly in his dead pan voice.

Sonic's smirk widened. "Like you would know anything about having feelings or having someone care about you." He stopped, blinked, and grinned. "Well–at least not anymore. But then, who cares about a little girl who was too stupid to get out of the way, right?"

Everyone looked at Shadow in alarm. His crimson eyes widened at the remark before he snarled at Sonic. Maddie instinctively grabbed Shadow's ankles in an effort to protect Sonic while Paige caught him by the neck, pulling him backward.

"No please," Rouge grumbled sarcastically. "Let him go."

They all ignored her as Sonic watched the trio for minute while Shadow continued to try to fight and break free, Paige and Maddie fusing at him to just let the entire thing go.

Then Sonic turned his back to them, waving the entire thing off as if it weren't important anymore.

"Come on, Tails," Sonic laughed in ridicule. "We're leaving."

"Sonic...I can't." Tails stared at him from his place on the ground next to Rouge. Sonic paused and gave him a bored expression, making Tails continue. "I can't walk. I hurt my ankle."

Sonic pretended to consider his words for a moment before grinning.

"Then crawl," he replied in a polite, cold voice.

The trio paused, Tails looking hurt and startled all at once while Shadow continued to glare daggers at Sonic, and Knuckles frowned at him like he had grown an extra head.

One thought pierced Maddie's mind: Sonic never talked to Tails like that. N-e-v-e-r.

"Crawl...? What the heck is wrong with you?"

Sonic opened his mouth to speak but froze. His pupils shrunk to the size of a baby pea and the smirk fell from his face into that of slight surprise. He let out a small, strangled gasp for breath and lightly touched his collar that finally stopped glowing. His iris's dilated back to their normal size and he fell to the ground in a heap.

"Sonic!" Paige called to him as she let go of Shadow completely and struggled to get to her feet. Maddie also let go of Shadow, then she touched Paige's shoulder, gaining her attention. "I'll check on him," Maddie offered. Paige nodded and stayed where she was, although she wasn't holding onto Shadow anymore.

Shadow watched as Maddie made her way over to the fallen hedgehog, still fuming. How dare that insolent faker insult the memory of Maria! Shadow was determined to promptly kill Sonic just as soon as the son of a gun woke up.

Because killing him in his sleep would just take the fun out of living–no, he wanted to see the light fade from his eyes when he strangled him. Then he would smack the stupid girl for chasing him instead of just letting him go on his way like a normal person. And just to make them angry, he would get Maddie too, just as he originally planned.

Yes, he would do all of those things. Maybe not in that order, but he would get his way. Sonic and his imbecile friends would pay. Every single one of them.

Dr. Eggman stroked his chin as he watched Maddie begin to check Sonic for a pulse.

He was impressed by the damage the azure hedgehog had done, but then, it was to be expected really. The ring was still imperfect, though he wasn't too worried about that. He knew Sonic wouldn't be able to get it off of any time soon. Not after the improvements he'd made to it or the fact that he had successfully acquired the Master Emerald safely and planned to keep it out of Sonic and the gullible echidna's reach.

He wouldn't be able to use the ring to its full extent until all seven chaos emeralds were in place, but in the mean time, it appeared to be functioning properly with the two it already had.

And once all seven were applied, he would have complete control of the situation and his true master plan would finally be able to commence. While he waited, all he had to do was continue to observe the hedgehog and wait for Sonic to make his move.

Eggman laughed evilly. He knew he wouldn't have to wait too long.

**There's some more clues to Eggman's plan! Things are getting intense. Two more chapters tomorrow! Love you all ^w^**

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_Sonic put on 'total jerk' mode. Anyway, are you piecing together Eggman's plot? It's all starting to clear up. ^w^ _

_Bai!_

_-Owlwyng :3_


	13. Stormy Skies

**Hi guys! I'm super super happy right now! I got my first favorite earlier today. Thanks for favoriting, TeamChaosHunters! (Specifically Moon ^u^) I'm glad you guys are enjoying it! I'm having (hopefully) just as much fun writing this as you are reading it. Happy reading! **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_Let's see what this chapter has in store today. It shall be amazing as usual. Also, tell me any misspellings you find in a chapter. It's my job._

_- Owlwyng :3_

-Stormy Skies-

After the bridge fiasco, nothing was the same. Everyone was worn down, angry at each other, and frazzled by Sonic's sudden change in attitude.

I held Paige's hand tightly. From my spot on the ground, I waved with my free hand to the Hurricane flying overhead. Tails insisted that even though he couldn't walk, he could still fly a plane, so he volunteered to take the injured ones to Vanilla's house.

While Rouge, Amy, and Tails flew to Vanilla's, Knuckles began to search for the Master Emerald. Shadow had bolted as soon as he had the chance. That left Paige, Sonic, and me still on the bridge.

Sonic had come to again. Paige and I were very weary. We kept our distance and were very gentle with our words until we were sure it was the real Sonic, not the demented-collar-controlled Sonic.

One way I could tell if he was the true Sonic or not was by his eyes. When the collar was taking a hold, his eyes would shrink to a tiny size and then dialate a little bit. They lost some of their shine, too.

"It's good to have you back." Paige said to Sonic when we had finally approached him again.

Sonic had a very troubled look on his face. He seemed deep in thought. His hands were placed gently around the ring on his neck, not pulling or ripping, but just resting there. He probably didn't even realize he was doing it.

Paige hugged Sonic, not caring about the oil staining her shirt. "Everything will be okay, buddy. We've all got your back."

"Thanks, Paige." Sonic said appreciatively. "I just don't know what's happening. When I'm like that...I'm aware of everything around me, but I can't control what I say or do. It's weird."

"You really hurt Amy. Well, and Shadow can't exactly get "hurt", but I think he's pretty angry at you too," I added.

"Like I said, I'm not me."

"That must suck."

"Yeah."

"What I'm wondering," Paige began, "is what Eggman plans to do. This seems pretty elaborate to me."

Sonic and I nodded in agreement. Sonic suddenly stood up. "I should apologize to Amy," he said suddenly.

"What about Shadow?" Paige asked.

"Have you ever tried apologizing to him?" Sonic countered, a playful smirk on his face. The normal hedgehog we all knew and loved was slowly becoming himself again.

"Good point!" she agreed and laughed. I nudged her with my elbow.

All of a sudden, it began to rain. Large, thick drops of rain pounded against my face as I looked the the sky. Dark cumulonimbus clouds filled the air.

I have to admit, Sonic's fur gets pretty darn cute when it's dripping wet. The rain had washed away the dripping oil from the robotic anaconda, leaving him grinning and absolutely soaked to the bone.

I could feel eyes on my back. I didn't have to see them to know who's they belonged to.

"I'll be right back." I said through the raindrops. Paige grinned at me and started spinning in the rain, her face tilted towards the sky and her arms stretched out as far as they could. I jogged off the bridge, opposite of the way from when I first arrived, and disappeared through the canopy of dripping jungle leaves.

"Hey, Shadow," I said calmly. He didn't respond, but he did turn to look towards me. I felt kinda bad for him. I had brought up the painful memory of Maria and Demented Sonic had trashed it. _Poor guy_, I thought.

"Thank you." I spoke with gentle, careful words.

"For what?" he answered finally, more like a statement than a question.

"You saved Amy and Rouge," I responded. He hmphed and turned his back on me. When he started running away, I was already hot on his heels.

Water splashed all around us. As I ran, great big droplets hit my face. The world was big a blur until I put my running contacts in. Everything instantly became clearer and more defined. In fact, I could make out each individual drop of rain on Shadow's quills if I looked hard enough.

Shadow didn't seem to be running from me...more of running WITH me, which was surprising, but I honestly had to say I enjoyed it. Plus, if I thought Sonic was cute with wet fur, Shadow's was absolutely adorable. I was on the verge of running my hands through it.

For two or three minutes we ran through the wet foliage. My clothes were absolutely soaked to the point where each step I took felt like a thousand pounds were strapped to my legs. My eyes were blurred with water and I kept tripping over roots and stuff hidden in the forest floor, but I kept going anyways.

Right up until Shadow slammed me to the ground.

It knocked the wind out of me. I was disoriented, but prepared at the same time. A part of me expected it, so I reacted with instinct and fought back.

Shadow pinned me to the ground, forcing all of his weight on top of me. His left arm was placed across my throat, his knees were digging into my stomach, and his other hand kept my arms tucked behind my back, unable to attack him.

"Not cool!" I managed to say with a struggled breath. Shadow chuckled to himself, smirking slightly, and pressed harder on my throat. The pain from Matt's...disturbing...attack to my shoulder came back to me. The wound had been healing nicely in the past few hours but now I was pretty sure it was reopened again. Oh joy.

One advantage I had here: I weighed at least 50 pounds more than he did. Maybe more than that. It wouldn't take much to throw him off.

This oddly reminded me of the times when my dad and I would wrestle. We'd go in his bedroom or the corner of the living room and play fight with each other. He'd pin me down like this-exactly like this-sometimes and then he'd release.

Paige appeared out of nowhere and jarred the memory out of my brain. Like me, she was absolutely drenched. Oddly enough, she was riding on...Extreme Gear? I stared in envy. Extreme Gear was WAY cooler than speed shoes.

Envy aside, Paige studied my situation. I kept struggling to throw Shadow off, but suprisingly, it was harder than I first thought. He was cutting off my airway now, and breathing was an immediate issue.

_WHY AREN'T YOU HELPING ME?! _I wished I could scream to Paige. She had a funny look on her face, studying us. What was she waiting for?

In a blink, Paige had changed her expression to that of the determined fighter I knew and loved. With a small battle cry, she had launched herself at Shadow. He went flying off me faster than words can describe. The two of them disappeared behind some big jungle leaves, out of my vision.

Sweet, pure air filled my lungs. I laid there gasping like a fish out of water for a few seconds and cleared my head. From my position on the ground, I heard a slap and a whimper. Trees thrashed around wildly with commotion. I staggered to my feet and headed in the direction of the grunts and cries.

When I passed the wall of dripping wet leaves, I could immediately see Shadow's eyes. They were flaming fires of rage that could burn down the entire jungle if he wanted them to, all centered on Paige. I'd never seen him this angry. What was his problem?

Paige was actually holding her own pretty well. She blocked his blows and countered with the same force. The hits she couldn't block, she turned so they didn't hit her in a vital spot. _Paige is good at hand to hand combat_, I thought, nestling this little gem of a fact in the back of my mind for later.

Shadow noticed me enter first. He cursed-at what, I'll never know-spun, and chaos speared me. Being electrified is never fun. It's a weird feeling...like at first it's all tingly and stuff...then WHAM! Electricity is coursing through your veins and you're out on the floor unconscious.

This wasn't quite the case with Shadow's chaos spear. His electricity was more...numbing than electrocuting. It sure did make me dazed though. Plus, the direct places where he hit me stung as if they were on fire.

It was over faster than it began. Shadow cursed again, turned, and disappeared into the brush. Paige shouted, "Wait!" but he was gone.

"He took my chaos emerald," I mumbled shakily.

Paige helped me to my feet. We hugged for an extended period of time, just locked in an embrace. She had a red mark on her face that strangely looked like a hand mark, which was probably from Shadow slapping her, and a bruise on her arm. Other than that, her injuries weren't too serious.

As if she could read my mind, she said, "I'm completely fine! Now what about you, Miss Chaos Spear?" and pulled up a corner of my shirt. A tiny gasp escaped her lips and she jumped a little bit.

When I looked over the edge of my shirt, I saw a series of raw, red wounds about one inch tall and four inches long, each zigzagged across my stomach. There seemed to be about five of them, all splattered in one little area on my lower abdomen. They were all bleeding and seemed to go pretty deep.

Paige had also noticed my shoulder. I was right: the wound had split itself right up again. It was bleeding as well. I think I had Paige pretty freaked about my condition. It looked bad, but I was feeling totally fine.

"C'mon," said Paige. "Let's get you home."

No argument from me.

I started to activate my speed shoes, but Paige stopped me. "It'll be easier this way," she convinced me. Then she gingerly pulled me onto her Extreme Gear.

"I totally understand the envy you felt now!" I said in awe of her board. This was epic!

"For the record, it's not exactly Extreme Gear," she replied, laughing. "More like a random hoverboard that doesn't have Extreme Gear upgrades just yet. Tails said I need to get the hang of riding it first, then we can update it."

"Awesome!" I exclaimed. We fist bumped and she stepped onto the board. It was long enough to have us both on at the same time, even though we were kinda squished together. I wrapped my arms around her for support and smiled, even with the searing pain on my abdomen. This was going to be great!

**I'm not happy with the ending, but I couldn't figure out how else to do it and I wanted to end the chapter there. Oh well! Make sure to hit that favorite button if you're really enjoying the story and comment what you think will happen next! Love you all soooooo much! **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_That chapter was pretty awesome. I love you guys. See you soon!_

_- Owlwyng :3_


	14. Late Night Healing

**Hey everyone! Special thanks to Werewolf lover 99 for being the first person to comment! (Sorry, I've been meaning to post that for a few chapters) About your question on if there will be any more OC's in the future: I don't know yet. My answer for now is no. I think two (being Paige and Maddie) is enough, but I might add another one later on. **

**Who knows? This chapter is kind of a filler before the action picks up again. It's the boring info that we have to have every now and then. Anyways...Happy reading everyone! **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_Filler can be pretty useful. Anyway, I think you guys know the drill. (Help me edit!)_

_- Owlwyng :3_

-Late Night Healing-

Later that night, I sat in bed staring at the ceiling. There was a smoke detector with a blinking red light above me and just to the left. I continuously looked at it for the longest time. So many thoughts were going through my head and it was hard to sort them all out.

1. Why aren't Paige and I younger, like whenever Chris came? (If that was accurate...I don't know) 2. What's the whole deal with the collar? 3. How is Paige taking all of this? 4. Is my family back home doing okay? 5. What can Eggman possibly be planning? 6. How are we going to eventually get home? I filtered through spinning thoughts, each taking turns as a spot in my head.

Too many things to worry about.

Too many things.

I rolled over onto my side. I was wearing headgear, and it hurt like heck. Since Shadow ripped out my braces on my last visit to Mobius, I had to get them reapplied as well as additional headgear.

Thanks, Shadz. Thanks a lot.

Headgear was the worst invention on earth. I hated it more than words could ever describe. It was basically a big metal piece that stuck in my mouth. That was attached to my cranium by straps that came around my head. The whole thing connected together and hurt my teeth like heck, all just to fix my overbite. Geez.

Once the thing was on my face, it hurt really badly. I called the metal piece my 'antlers' because when I had my headgear on, they stuck out like moose antlers and I even occasionally ran into walls and doorframes. I had to sleep on my back or my stomach because when I slept on my side, those antlers would push my teeth inside my mouth and it hurt.

Yet I still chose to wear it. I don't know why I even brought it to Mobius in the first place. I never planned to wear the horrid contraption ever again. I wanted nothing more than to burn my headgear along with my jazz shoes and my penguin shirt (long story for another time...) in a fiery pit of flames.

Yet I still chose to wear it.

I sighed deeply and stared at Paige. She was in a bed at my feet and to the left a little bit. My bed was against a wall with a two paneled windows, both with blinds, each shut tight.

Hers was also against the wall but on a different wall than mine. Her wall had no windows, but it a huge painting instead. Shadows from the blinds were cast from the two windows on the parallel wall, directly across from Paige's bed.

Rain. Endless rain that poured on forever, pounding against windows, dripping in cracks, filling abandoned buckets in the yard, drenching every inch of uncovered earth for miles. From the way everyone described it, Monsoon would be like this for only a little while longer, then it would be over.

I rolled over onto my other side, facing the wall. I tried to make shapes out of the designs from the paint, but I gave up after a while.

Vanilla's house was toasty warm. The freezing rain outside pounded the roof and struck the windows, but inside we were all nice, dry, and cozy. I snuggled deeper into my blankets and tried to relax.

I was thankful that Vanilla let us stay at her home. Last time, I had stayed at Tails's quaint little house. There was never a dull moment there. With his impressive workshop and lab, there was always something to observe.

Cream and Vanilla's house was different. It was more focused on comfort and family than technology. I had promised Cream I'd play dolls with her at some point. I guess that was another thing to remember to do.

I wondered how long Paige and I would stay in Mobius. I wouldn't mind being here for a few months. I mean, this was absolutely amazing. But I had home to think about. Family, education, and my future all came into play.

We couldn't stay here forever. I would miss my folks, I'd skip way too many years of school, and I wouldn't have anything to work towards, like having a family of my own or getting a job.

I rolled onto my back once more, cringing slightly in pain when my injured shoulder touched the cloth of the bed. I stared at the blinking red light from the fire detector some more. _Why did everything have to be so confusing?_ I wondered. _Couldn't there just be a simple answer to everything in life?_

I'd had enough of my own thoughts. I swung my feet over the edge of my bed. The tile was extremely cold and I dug my freezing toes back under the covers as soon as they hit the floor. After waiting a few seconds, I gingerly stuck my feet out from under the covers and stood up. My feet made little sucking sounds as I walked across the room.

It wasn't supposed to be a bedroom. It was more like a storage room, honestly. It was a very large room, with a rack with a mirror on top and little hooks to hold coats and stuff. A door on the same wall as Paige's bed opened out into the fenced backyard. An old fridge and freezer stood in the corner, with a white cabinet next to it full of plastic cups, old plates, half-stale cookies, and various other things.

There was a little table in another corner with three chairs and a deck of cards. An exercise trampoline was at the foot of my bed. Lastly, an old TV with a stained wood cabinet thing stood near the fridge and freezer, holding countless old game boards, broken toys, and remotes for things that didn't work anymore. The beds that Paige and I were sleeping on weren't even beds, just folded down red couches. The floor was a white, outdated pattern of tile, which was freezing against my bare feet.

It really seemed like Paige and I were hard to house...

I opened the door to the kitchen. Luckily, no one was in there at the time. I heard a noise and froze instantly, ears listening for it to come again.

My attention turned to the sitting room across from the kitchen. Tails was sleeping on the couch. His ankle was propped up on a pillow, wrapped in cream colored medical cloth and covered with a bag of ice. Every time he breathed, he snored slightly. I smiled a little and continued about my buisness, turning down a nearby hallway.

Vanilla's house wasn't huge. It was only one story tall, and nothing was really fancy, but it was cozy. It reminded me of my Gram's house because it was always warm, welcoming, and smelled faintly like chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven. Since I had been here before, I kind of knew the layout of the house and where things were, but I still liked to explore.

The first door I came to was unlocked. Carefully, I pushed the door open a crack. The room was dark. Moonlight streamed through the window and I could vaguely make out the shape of a child in the bed.

It was Cream. She was sleeping soundly, Cheese snuggled up next to her for comfort. A loud crack of thunder rolled across the skies at that moment, and the little chao jumped. I had to slap a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing. Cheese cuddled right up next to Cream again, fast asleep. I wondered if he had even woken up at all.

I gingerly backed out of the room, shutting the door with an inaudible click. The next room was locked, but I remembered it was either the laundry room or a closet. Shrugging, I moved on down the hallway.

As with the first room, I opened the door slowly to the third room I came across. I squinted and stared into the darkness of the shadows, trying to make out different shapes.

Now, I didn't really know what I was doing or why. Maybe I was just exploring, or maybe I was a bit delirious from the pain killers Vanilla gave me earlier that evening. Either way, I jumped when a pair of glowing eyes stared straight back at me.

"Never thought you'd be one to come snooping on me in the middle of the night," Rouge said with a playful smirk. I gave a nervous laugh from my spot at the doorway. She waved me in. I took a seat on the foot of her bed since I didn't see anywhere else to sit.

"Sorry," I began. Then I paused for a second. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I'm a bat, hon," she reminded me. I noticed she was staring at my headgear, although she didn't say anything. I suddenly felt like I didn't belong here.

"Oh yeah." There was more awkward silence. "Do you need anything?" I asked finally.

I could tell she was about to gesture with her arms or stretch out her wings by the way she shifted. When she moved only the slightest bit, she suddenly stopped short, crinkling up her face in pain. Her injuries had been the worst of all of ours by far.

"I guess I could use a glass of water," Rouge said finally, slowly. I nodded and slipped out of the room without shutting the door.

The kitchen was lit dimly by a small light over the stove. In the sitting room nearby, Tails had turned over onto his side. His ice pack was thrown onto the floor and his ankle was twisted in a way that looked really painful.

Sighing, I quietly strode across the tiled floor onto the carpet. I used delicate fingers to lift Tails's foot back into a good position. Then I wrapped it back in the towel and put the ice bag back on top of his ankle to finish it off. Tails did one of those sleepy-heavy-breath-sigh things and snuggled deeper into the couch.

With that problem resolved, I snuck quietly back into the kitchen and grabbed a sparkling clear glass. I didn't know whether Rouge wanted ice or not. I was going to get her some, but then I talked myself out of it because the ice machine would make too much noise.

A few minutes later, I returned to Rouge's room with a glass of water and a bowl of strawberries with whipped cream. Rouge had told me once-I think at the campfire two days before I left Mobius last time I visited-that she likes strawberries with whipped cream. So I thought: _Hey! Why not bring her some?_

"Here," I said, setting the glass of water on the bedside table and the bowl of strawberries on her lap. "Anything else?"

Rouge's eyes flickered to the fruit bowl. "I'm good. Thanks."

"Gotcha. See you in the morning!" I said quietly. Rouge had no reply, so I silently left the room once more.

I eventually found my way to the bathroom after attempting to search another room. The door squeaked when I shut it and I cringed at the loud noise.

I leaned against the countertop with my head in my hands. There was too much to keep track of, to keep up with, to know and to learn and to progress and to just simply live. Mobius brought out all my problems it seemed. Bringing Paige along didn't seem to help much either, because I always was concerned about how she was doing and what she was feeling.

And this was just day one.

I slowly pulled up my shirt to reveal the bloodstained medical material around my middle where Shadow's chaos spears had penetrated me. The sight made me cringe, so I let my shirt fall back into it's original place again.

I turned around and pulled the toilet seat down. Climbing on top of it, I opened the cabinet doors above the toilet and pulled out a fresh roll of white gauze and a bottle of antiseptic. I stepped down and faced the mirror once more, staring into my own intense blue-green eyes and then at my stupid headgear. I ripped the orthodontist bound teeth killer off my face and set it on the counter.

I pulled my shirt up again. This time, I stuck my arms back inside their holes. The shirt bunched around my neck but the fabric didn't cover my abdomen. This way I could work with rewrapping my wounds.

Slowly, I peeled off the old gauze and laid it on the counter next to me. A part of the strip fell into the sink, but I didn't care, so I left it. It took me a minute for me to muster up the courage to look back in the mirror again. I hated to see myself injured.

The sight wasn't as bad as I imagined. Five zig-zag shaped, raw, peeling wounds stained my abdomen. Sure, they were throbbing red and scabbing, with the area around them irritated and raised, but other than that they looked okay. I gingerly swabbed my injuries with antiseptic liquid.

I began the precarious task of carefully wrapping my wounds again by taking the gauze roll and rolling it around my stomach until the affected area was covered completely. I was happy with the finished product.

Once I finished that, I shifted my work over to my shoulder: the stab wound from Matt. I shivered at the memory of his house. Knuckles and I had dropped that racoon off at a mental institution earlier that day before we chaos controlled to Angel Island.

I had to admit...I missed my chaos emerald. It was the white one, which was the emerald of illusion. I couldn't help but feel somewhat magical when I had it. Now that it was gone, the sparkle was gone too.

I remembered back to when Tails explained that each emerald had its power, but it also had a specialty. The white emerald's specialty was "illusion." If I remembered correctly, the red was "power" and the green was "life." I couldn't think of any others at the moment.

I shook the magical thoughts out of head and unwrapped my shoulder gauze. When Vanilla was originally cleaning it as best she could, it hurt worse than when I had actually been stabbed in the first place. She had to pin me to the table to get me to be still, but that didn't stop me from hollering with every fresh sting of pain when she spread antiseptic on the wound.

I was starting to unwrap my shoulder gauze when there was a tap on the door. Unconsciously, I quietly mumbled, "Come in." Two seconds later I realized my current state, but by then it was too late to stop Paige from entering the room.

She stared at me and I stood there sheepishly, my shirt pulled up around my neck so she could see my bra and everything. I coughed and cleared my throat, but that only made it more awkward.

Instead of blushing in embarrassment or leaving the room, Paige closed the small space between us and started unwrapping my shoulder wound. She smiled and gently sat me down on the toilet seat and began to work on my shoulder so I didn't have to.

"Thanks," I whispered.

"No problem."

"Why are you down here?"

"I saw you weren't in the bedroom, so I came to find you."

"Maybe you should put a homing device on me," I joked.

Paige ripped off the gauze a little harsher than I wanted her to, and I hissed in pain. "I don't have to. Tails already did that," Paige said quietly. Then she stuck her tongue out at me.

I stared in curiosity, sighed, and shook my head. Honestly, I didn't doubt that Tails has somehow put a tracking device on me. With him, anything was possible.

I could tell when my wound was fully exposed because Paige's smile fell off her face immediately. She tried to cover up the worry, but it didn't work very well.

"Show me," I requested quietly, almost a whisper. She grabbed my good shoulder and turned my body around so I could see the damage in the mirror. I cringed.

"Just a flesh wound," I croaked, quoting Monty Python and the Holy Grail. She smiled and turned me back around again. She took a second to compose herself before she began to treat my injury.

It was late-almost early morning-when we finally crawled back in bed. My shoulder and abdomen stung from the antiseptic and from the wounds themselves. I didn't put my headgear back on. I just set it on the windowsill next to my bed for in the morning.

Paige had fallen asleep again in about 45 minutes, but I again lay awake staring at the stupid smoke detector. I wished I could take out my phone and listen to some music, but the water from the rapids we had landed in when we first got here ruined it along with Paige's laptop, my iPod, and her phone.

My mind wandered to the darkest corners of my mind, and eventually I drifted off into a restless sleep.

Paige felt bad about lying to Maddie, but if she knew why she was really awake, she would never be okay with it. She was pretty sure that Maddie didn't know Sonic was in the house, because if she did, she would have never left his side.

Then again, she wouldn't have either.

When Paige was absolutely positive Maddie was asleep, she quietly crept out of bed and down the hallway. She had figured out earlier where Sonic was staying. Without knocking, she silently slipped into the room, shutting the door without a sound behind her.

Paige didn't mean him any harm. She never meant to hurt Sonic in any way at all. She was just curious, but her curiosity ended up costing her.

**BUM BUM BUM! Now THAT'S how you do a cliffhanger! See you guys tomorrow! ;)**

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_We all thought it was just filler. Let's see how this unfolds. _

_Bai!_

_- Owlwyng :3_


	15. The Power of the Collar

**Hey guys! I have to admit, today has been kind of a lazy day for me. I'm only posting one chapter tonight Don't worry though! Tomorrow Owlwyng is spending the night at my house so we'll probably post three or (maybe) four chapters if we have enough time. Thanks for understanding! As always, happy reading!**

** -Epicsonicfan :D**

_Sorry guys. I will try to make it up._

_Anyway,enjoy!_

_- Owlwyng :3_

-The Power of the Collar-

Paige's shrill scream jostled me awake. Before I even knew what I was doing, I was out of bed and tearing down the hallway. Tails was hobbling along behind me, using crutches to manuever around.

Somehow, I knew right where to go to find her. I burst into a room to find Sonic holding Paige against a wall by her throat. Her eyes were about as big around as plates; I could see fear, and panic in her eyes as she struggled to get his fingers off her neck.

The collar around Sonic's neck was glowing at a normal level. Not super bright, but certainly not dim either. I noticed that the ring had an extra chaos emerald in it, and I wondered if that's what triggered this attack on Paige.

When I looked into his eyes, which were shrunk to a minuscule size, I saw something I thought I'd never see. He had almost the same expression as Paige, but his was more aggressive, as if he were fighting himself. Maybe he was.

Moving quickly for my groggy morning state, I tackled Sonic to the ground. Paige was gasping for air behind me, leaning against the wall and sucking in great breaths.

I didn't want to fight Sonic. I didn't want to fight anyone!

The three chaos emeralds in his collar were definitely affecting Sonic. He was stronger, faster, and more aware. I didn't want to think about what would happen if he had all seven...

Sonic punched me squarely in the chest, just above my chaos spear injuries. I fought back, punching as well. I kicked and aimed for his head, but he caught my foot. I went flying backwards into the wall behind me, hitting my head hard on the doorframe.

As I recovered, Paige took my place. She did a flying spin kick that was actually pretty impressive and Sonic went down. She leaped on of him. He squirmed, but she held firm and kept him pinned to the ground, driving her knee into his back, just between the shoulder blades.

Painful, but affective.

"Good morning!" Paige said cheerfully, still keeping Sonic drilled into the ground. I sighed and stood up, staggering when a fresh stab of pain ripped through my skull. I wobbled my way over next to the pair and kneeled, helping to keep him down.

Sonic had calmed slightly. His head was turned around and he was staring at us with a hateful expression on his face. It was scary.

"Sonic," I said, staring straight into those sparkling emerald eyes, "please come back. Don't do this." His eyes brightened slightly, but they dimmed as the collar took a hold again.

"I know you don't want to hurt Paige or me," I continued, ignoring the exasperated looks everyone was throwing at me. "Please! We need you back!"

"Sonic!" Paige cried suddenly.

There was a flash of light as the collar lost control, and Sonic went limp. He wasn't unconscious this time, but he was visibly very weak. Cream rushed over to help him.

"Oh Mister Sonic!" she exclaimed, helping him to his feet after Paige and I released him. Sonic stared at us in remorse.

"Thanks," he said. Then he smiled vaguely, got up, and walked out of the room. All of us stared after him blankly.

Rouge turned on Paige. "What did you do?" she growled, stepping forward slightly. I hadn't even noticed she had been in the crowd until now.

Rouge had never seemed to be one to get angry (that was Knuckles's job) but right now she was pretty steamed.

"Who says Paige did this?" I said, defending my buddy. "You can't just come in here and start pinning blame left and right!"

"Sweetie," Rouge said with a bitter tone, "she was the only one in the room with Sonic. What else could have happened?"

"Standing right here guys..." Paige interjected, but we both ignored her.

"Shadow took my chaos emerald! He could have easily snuck in, smashed the chaos emerald in there, and taken off!" I countered.

Rouge smirked and put a hand on her hip. "Shadow isn't that type. He may not be too fond of the speeding wonder, but he saw what happened to him on that bridge." She glared daggers at me. "He wouldn't do something to cause that much pain. I doubt he's even working for Eggman."

"Oh, and like you would know so much about him!"

"I know a heck of a lot more about Shadow than I do about her!" Rouge accused, gesturing towards Paige with her free hand, "We hardly know anything about her! Just because you brought her doesn't mean we have to trust her!"

"Guys, please. If you could just-" Paige began.

"It's only been a day!" I cut her off, my voice rising.

"She wouldn't earn my trust if she stayed for a year!"

I laughed. "A jewel thief talking about trust. Now isn't that ironic!"

"At least I've got the guts and skill to rob a jewelry shop. You, Miss Goody Goody, couldn't even slip in an air vent before backing out!"

I narrowed my eyes, but said nothing.

"Quiet, hm? That's what I thought," she taunted, pausing for a moment. "You've always been jealous of me, honey," she added.

"Jealous?" I spat, "Who would ever be jealous of you?"

"GUYS!" I heard Paige yell. We turned towards her to see her angrily staring at the two of us. "KNOCK IT OFF!"

"Paige, I-"

"SHUT UP!" she yelled to get her point across. I put my face in my hands. Things were crumbling between the group, and if we didn't tighten the supports, the tower was going to crash, topple, and burn.

Everything was quiet for a moment. "Team meeting in the kitchen. NOW!" Paige instructed firmly. All of us, even little Cream who looked on the verge of tears, shuffled into the kitchen.

I noticed Rouge trying to slip out of the house. Paige must have noticed too, because she marched over to her, murmured something in her ear, and then they both trotted towards the table, although Rouge looked as if she wanted the spilt the table into millions of wood chips.

It must have been about six o'clock, with dim morning light streaming in through the windows. Everyone except for Paige and Rouge were groggy from being woken up so early.

Vanilla walked gently, in that motherly way that mothers always walk, to the stove and started making breakfast. Soon delicious smells of eggs and toast filled the air. It took some of the edge off the conversation when Paige finally began talking.

She started off discussing that Rouge and I needed to cool it. She said that we had never really enjoyed each other too much, but that right now we needed to chill out and just deal with it once the collar problem was resolved. As much as I hated to admit it, she was at right.

The previous evening, I had taken a shower and spent some time in our makeshift bedroom reading some old books for about three or four hours. When Paige had finally joined me way later that night, we were both super tired, so we both went to sleep before I could ask her what she had been doing for those three or four hours.

Right now she was telling us.

"Tails and I were working with Sonic on the collar," Paige began, gaining a grim expression, "and we figured out a couple things. First off, the collar can't be removed as of its current state. We've tried everything and it just won't come off," she explained and Tails nodded his head in agreement.

"We've also discovered that the collar emits some sort of energy," Tails continued where Paige left off. "It's not exactly a negative energy, but it's not a positive energy either. One thing I do know: it distorts the people around them slightly."

"Basically, he means that the people around the collar get changed. We think that's why you and Rouge started fighting like that," Paige explained in simpler terms.

"So what did happen this morning, Paige?" I asked gently. She turned towards the window where raindrops where slowly trailing their way down the glass. A clap of thunder rolled across the sky.

"I didn't mean to hurt him, Maddie. Honest!" Paige began. I immediately knew Rouge was right about Paige, but probably for the wrong reason.

"I was just checking to see if he was okay. I didn't know the chaos emerald was going to jump into the collar!"

"Wait, wait, wait... "Jump into the collar?" What does that mean?" Tails asked. She nodded and explained.

"When I walked in, the emerald and the collar-"

"How did you get a chaos emerald?!" I interjected.

"-both started glowing like crazy. Then the chaos emerald flew out of my hand and into the ring. Sonic woke up, saw me, and said some sort of cocky greeting," Paige described.

"I said I was just checking on him," she continued, holding back tears, "and then I saw the collar take control and he started attacking me. I didn't want to hurt him, so I kept running around the room and blocking his attacks as much as I could until he pinned me against that wall and started choking me..."

I scooted my chair closer to hers, hugged her, and let her cry into my shoulder. This whole thing was kinda traumatic, and she was taking it all full force.

I never saw Paige cry very much. She'd always been a strong spirited person, and things usually didn't get to her. But I knew her fantasies that she dreamed of were much different than what Mobius was actually throwing at her, and that probably was a little scary. That was startling for me at first, too.

Everyone just kind of awkwardly stared at each other and listened to the rain that pounded on the roof as we waited for Paige to calm down. Vanilla served breakfast, and eventually things dialed down to a normal state again.

The previous conversation ended, and no one brought it up again. I think I was the one that noticed as Paige lifted up the end of her jeans leg and stared at the bloody wound Sonic had given her that morning.

**Again, I aplogize for only posting one chapter. *shrugs* Sometimes, I need a break to just be lazy. The normal schedule (if not more than usual) will return tomorrow. Love you all! **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_You guys are lovely. I'm really sorry it's just one chapter but, I can't stop it anymore than I can stop the wind._

_Bai!_

_- Owlwyng :3_


	16. Weapons and Emeralds

**Hey everyone! As I promised, here's a chapter to make up for yesterday's missing one. Like I said, I apologize for being lazy. Everyone has those days, right? Enjoy this next chapter!**

** -Epicsonicfan :D**

-Weapons and Emeralds-

Paige and I had both agreed we needed fighting practice before we could help in any battles. Normally, Sonic would be eager to help, but Tails thought that even a small sparring match could trigger his collar. We couldn't take that chance.

So that left us with Knuckles, the gullible red echidna with a real knack for blowing his top. Oh, joy!

Paige and I met Knux on Angel Island where he wanted to train us. Paige rode her hoverboard, while I used my speed shoes.

On the way there, I taught her how to maneuver and go at such high speeds without crashing. She was getting a lot better at riding! I hoped I could teach her later how to fight hand-to-hand combat while riding at the same time. She was eager to learn.

After last night's raging storm, Monsoon had calmed down slightly. Luckily, Paige and I had another break in the weather so we could travel to Angel island without getting soaked. It was pretty nice actually.

We found Knuckles standing in front of the Master Emerald podium, arms crossed and an agitated look on his face.

"You're late," he clipped, his voice dripping with annoyance. I checked my watch.

"Aw, come on Knux," I replied, grinning, "it's only two minutes. Woulda been more if Paige had crashed again."

"Hey!" she objected.

I grinned and nudged her. She nudged me back. Knuckles stared at us like we were insane, a puzzled look on his face. We both sighed and smiled to each other.

We didn't do any sparring for a long time. Instead, Knuckles took us to a stone wall. It was old and cracked with vines snaking up the sides. Leaves and branches covered it completely, leaving only a few splotches in view to the wall.

Knuckles approached the wall, but Paige and I both hung back in confusement.

"What's an old stone wall gonna do to help up fight better?" Paige asked as I thought it.

"This," he said. In one swift motion, Knuckles pushed a small section of the stone inwards. It flashed a bright green, turned a bit, then slowly slid back into its original place.

I stared in bewilderment as the whole wall we had stood in front of shifted to the side. The vines that had looked so real were actually falsely applied onto the stone to make it look old. Same with the leaves and branches tangled in them, so they moved with the wall, too.

With the wall gone, it revealed a small, dim passageway that melted into blackness. Paige took a few steps forward, staring curiously down the tunnel.

"Ladies first," Knuckles commented, grinning. I rolled my eyes and took a step towards the dark path.

Paige took the lead, trotting down the passageway with a glint in her eyes. I followed behind her, a bit more cautious, but curious all the same. Knuckles was the last one in, sealing the door we entered through with a loud 'whoof' noise.

Further down the tunnel, I could see a flickering light, as if from a fire. Later on, I saw I was right. There were torches placed throughout the passageway, each flickering and wavering as if hit by an invisible breeze.

We kept walking for about five more minutes. Then the torches disappeared, or maybe they just weren't lit beyond that one point. Either way, Paige stopped in front of me. With no light, I ran into her, and Knuckles ran into me.

"Hey!" I complained and Knuckles grunted behind me. "Why'd you stop?"

"Maybe because there's a wall in front of me?" she responded.

"Oh," I stated, laughing. "Knux, would you please tell us what the heck we're doing?" I added, letting my voice echo around us in the small chamber. He had shoved his way to the front of our little procession, so he was standing in front of Paige.

At that moment, there was a loud rumble, and I could feel a whoosh of a wind as the wall that Paige had claimed was there shifted somehow in the darkness. I stumbled wildly, trying to gain my footing in the shaking chamber.

We were suddenly blinded by bright whiteness as the dark tunnel was filled with light. Shielding our eyes, we all turned away from the light and took time to let our eyes adjust.

After several second of blinking, trying to see, failing, covering up my eyes again, and repeating, I heard Knuckles mumble, "It feels so good to be back..." in a quiet tone.

"I think I'm blind!" Paige cried in a half-joking, half-not manner. I chuckled and forced myself out of my cover position. The light was intensely bright, but only because of the darkness we had been previously been emersed in. It wouldn't kill me to adjust.

What I saw was astounding. For a second, I was convinced that I was delusional. Paige gasped behind me and I was pretty sure she was seeing the same thing I was.

It was a training room. More specifically, a weapons training room. It was old-ancient maybe-and held what seemed to be every weapon ever known to man, and even some that I didn't recognize.

"Oh my gosh..." breathed Paige, absolutely mystified.

"What is this place?!" I asked with as much, if not more, awe as Paige had.

"This," Knuckles began grandly, gesturing around the huge room as we entered, "is the ancient training room. Echidnian Warriors, Guardians, Protectors, you name it, they've all trained here. This place has been around for many generations, even before my grandfather's grandfather."

"You can find weapons of any type here," he continued, "from old maces to modern Mobian guns." I gaped at the rows and rows of weapons, filling two entire walls from floor to ceiling.

"This is amazing!" I exclaimed, still stunned. Knuckles chuckled and grinned.

"We'll begin your training with weapon choice. You need something you'll be comfortable fighting with. You'll have to be able to learn and develop with it." Knuckles began rambling on. I noticed Paige eagerly stepping towards a rack of nunchucks on the wall closest to us.

"See something you like?" he asked my friend. Paige gingerly stepped out from the entry way to the enormous room and headed towards the left wall. She nodded vigorously and trotted off to some highly dangerous weapon that she could easily kill us all with.

I took some time to look around a bit. We were definitely underground, but it was cool, so we were in a mountain, not a volcano. Unless we had somehow gone downwards without ever sloping down in the tunnel, which would have been awesome.

The walls were made of rock and earth molded into a sort of old clay-stone type thing that crumbled under my fingers when I touched it. The stone was cracked all over, worn down from years and years of use.

As I continued staring, I noticed intricate patterns and art carved into the stone. Most of the pictures were too worn out to decipher, but the ones that were newer and not from the ancient ages were pretty clear. They depicted battles, romance, victory, magic, power, loss, and more. All of these stories were carved, painted, or written into the stone.

I followed the tales up the walls. The ceiling in the training room was very high, tens of feet above my head. Even so, I could still make out stories carved into the very top of the stone.

The lower, older stories were made of pictures, almost like hieroglyphics. The middle ones were painted in a sort of squiggly language and then the newer ones on the ceiling and a little below that were written in English. There were only a few places where I could actually read things because the rest of the tales were written in a language I couldn't read.

I jumped when I noticed Knuckles standing beside me. "Studying the legends?" he asked in almost a proud way. I nodded and gazed wistfully around the room again. He gestured to a worn down carving that was etched into the stone about six feet above my head.

"All of my ancestors hand-created these pictures and words when they made this training center,"

"That's incredible!"

"'They bring fire and suffering. Our harmony is broken. These men are not welcome in our land. We will defend our peace.'" Knuckles translated a small carving in the squiggly language that he had gestured to a moment ago.

"Read another," I instructed and he shifted to one of the lower carvings. After further inspection, I realized it was yet another language.

Knuckles ran his hands along the wall and began slowly reading, pausing every so often to decipher the etchings. "The servers are the seven chaos. The controller serves to unify the chaos. Chaos is power enriched-"

"-by the heart," Paige finished, walking over to us holding a pair of silver nunchucks with deep maroon handles.

"That's your chant!" I lightly punched Knuckles's shoulder. "You weren't even reading that!"

He grinned and slugged me back. Then he turned his attention to Paige and said, "You scare me sometimes." In response, Paige gave an maniacal laugh. I rolled my eyes but smiled all the same.

Just then, Knuckes noticed the weapon Paige was holding. "Nunchucks! Good choice!" he reached out the take them from her hands. She dodged, pulling the handles away from him. The silver chain whipped his hand my accident.

"That's cold!" Knuckles yelped.

"You're just hot," she replied, grinning.

"Yeah," I agreed, "hot-HEADED!" Knuckles glared, clearly unamused. I giggled at my own cheesy joke.

"Anyways..." He coughed once. "That's good. What about you?" Knuckles turned and asked me. I slowly twirled around, looking at my choices. Knux was right. There literally was every weapon ever here, even ones I didn't recognize. One weapon caught my eye.

I crossed the room and reached for a sword. The hilt was a beautiful gold with little green gems encrusted around the edges. A long, silver blade extended from the hilt and seemed to be calling for a battle.

"This is the one," I decided. The sword was heavy in my hands. I nearly dropped it at first, but once I got a feel for it, I actually enjoyed the heaviness. It made me feel powerful and important.

"Great!" Knuckles exclaimed, "Let's get training!"

"I'm tracking a chaos emerald energy field somewhere nearby. Head southeast!" Amy commanded. She pressed a button below the screen in front of her to enlarge the map she was looking at.

"Great job, Amy! Now we just need to find two chaos emeralds and locate one more!" Tails exclaimed happily from the pilot seat of the Hurricane. Amy sat behind him, staring out the window to the world below and to a small computer screen on the back of Tails's seat.

"Why exactly are we collecting the emeralds again?" Amy asked, still thoroughly confused.

"If Eggman gets them and puts them in the collar, it'll grow stronger, and that's not a good thing for Sonic."

"Well, we'd better hurry. I'll do anything to get the Sonic I know back."

"Don't worry. We'll stop Eggman!" Tails reassured her during their decent. "Now hang on!"

Three minutes later, Amy had jumped out of her seat, onto the wing of the plane, and then to the ground. Tails, still with a flexible type of bandage wrapped around his injured leg, stayed in the cockpit of the plane and waited for her to return.

Earlier in the day, Amy and Tails had discussed what they needed to do to help Sonic in any way. They finally decided on a air search for the remaining chaos emeralds to make sure they stayed out of the clutches of Eggman.

Since Tails's leg was still healing, Amy agreed to be the one to grab the chaos emeralds. Tails would stay back at the Hurricane and monitor to be sure everything was okay. With a determined heart, Amy set out to find the first of three chaos remaining chaos emeralds.

As she walked, she thought about who had what emeralds. The yellow, dark blue, and purple ones were in Sonic's collar. Since Shadow had taken Maddie's white chaos emerald, and that meant that the red, green, and the cyan colors were either in an unknown location waiting to be found, or with Eggman. She hoped for the first one.

Amy found the red chaos emerald with ease. It was resting on the edge of a muddy river, looking as if it was just about to fall in. With its color, the emerald stuck out like a sore thumb. She quickly scooped it up and headed back to the Hurricane.

As they took off to search for the last two emeralds, Tails said, "Only two more, Amy! We can do this!"

**The action will be picking up again soon ^u^ Hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment or hit that follow/favorite button if you really liked it! **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**


	17. The Voice

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry I've been behind on chapters lately. As I said before, Owlwyng and were hanging out last night. We were planning on posting three or four chapters...but we ended up just eating cupcakes and watching Frozen (You're never too old for Disney movies!) until we eventually fell asleep around 3 in the morning. It was a fun, sugar-filled night, to say the least. **

**Anyways, I'll definitely be posting more than two chapters today. I hope you guys are enjoying the book! Sorry to keep you waiting :**

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

-The Voice-

Feet pounding against the earth. Wind flying through his quills. The feel of adrenaline and impulse driving him along.

The feeling of running in general always lifted his spirits if they were ever down. This was where he felt relaxed, comfortable, happy even. Today, however, he still felt the terrible guilt and worry that had been clouding him since the stupid ring had gotten shoved around his neck.

Sonic ran faster now, wishing his problems would just blow away in the wind rushing by. Everything had been so carefree before! He found it strange having his world get shifted into a much more serious tone.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked himself as he ran. "What CAN I do?" and for the first time in years, Sonic the Hedgehog began to cry.

_Don't cry,_ a voice soothed from somewhere. A sweet sounding female's voice.

"Who's there?" the blue hedgehog called. He dug his heels into the ground, frantically wiped the few tears away, and stopped. "Hello?"

Again the voice came. _Everything will be okay. You just have to trust yourself._ The voice sounded soft. It spoke with slow, deliberate words that were over-enunciated.

He spun in a circle, but there was no one anywhere. Not even any houses nearby.

"How do you know?" Sonic replied slowly, cautiously.

_ I don't._ The voice came back once more and Sonic was convinced that it was coming from inside his head.

"I must be driving myself insane..." Sonic muttered. He started to take off again, but the voice halted his actions.

_No more than anyone else. I don't think you're going mad at all._

"Just who are you?" he asked as he sped away in a cloud of dust.

_What are you going to do about the collar?_ The voice dodged Sonic's question.

"I-I don't know," he admitted. "It really bugs me though. Sometimes I feel like I'm not myself. Like even now! I'm getting all emotional, and it's...weird."

_I understand. Who gave you the collar?_

"'Gave' is hardly the word I would use. More like, 'Who forced the evil collar of hate onto your face?'" Sonic barked bitterly. "Eggman did."

_The genius?_

Sonic snorted. "He's no genius!" There was silence from the voice for a few seconds. The blue hedgehog slowed himself to a slow trot in a quiet neighborhood.

_ The only way to remove the collar is to get all the chaos emeralds into it,_ the voice finally said.

"Are you nuts?" he cried. He passed a young couple who stared at him. Since he was talking to himself, he probably looked mental. Maybe he was.

"Having three in it is bad enough!" Sonic argued after he had gotten a safe distance away from the couple. "You think shoving the rest of the chaos emeralds in the ring is gonna help?"

_ It's the only way. That collar isn't going anywhere until you get those emeralds into their slots._

"Yeah, like I'm personally gonna feed the emeralds into my collar and make myself attack my friends and unable to control my mind. That makes total sense!" Sonic said, his voice dripping with sarcasm and slight anger.

_Then maybe you could just let this Eggman put the emeralds in for you,_the voice responded, actually being serious.

"And I can just let Amy be my girlfriend." Sonic rolled his eyes. "N-O. No!"

_Is there any other way?_

"I thought you were supposed to know that!" he snapped.

_Well, the energy in the ring would stop if you died..._

"Okay, okay!" Sonic cried. "I get it!"

_So NOW you listen!_

"Shut up!" he commanded, very frustrated.

_I suggest you make a choice. You don't have much time left, Sonic._

"What do you mean, I don't have much time?" he asked, but the voice was fulfilling Sonic's wish. It was shutting up and staying that way. For now, at least.

Sonic let out a noise that sounded like a mix between a cry, a moan, and a frustrated sigh. First he had the collar, and now he had THIS to deal with too!

He kept running until evening when the sky was set ablaze with the fiery colors of brilliant red, yellow, orange, and occasionally purple. Sonic hadn't heard from the voice for the rest of the day. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or troubled by this fact. He decided he'd figure it out later, like all the rest of this stupid mess he'd found himself in.

Sonic didn't want to return to Vanilla's house. He knew he was welcome at Tails's anytime, but he didn't want to go anywhere near his friends at the moment because he felt if was too much of a risk to take because of the Paige incident that had occurred last night.

Instead, he stretched himself out on a comfy and sturdy tree branch in the middle of nowhere. Right now, Sonic wanted to be as far away from people as possible. He didn't mind sleeping in the tree for a night. He often took naps in them in the afternoons.

Just as he had snuggled down into the crook where the branch met the main trunk and he was finally comfortable, he heard the voice again.

_Sweet dreams!_ It yelled way too loudly for the hour.

Falling from that tree sure did hurt.

Eggman sat facing a series of computer screens. One had a map with coordinates of where Sonic and all his meddling friends were located. Other screens had their cameras training their sights on the flying furball and his hammering hothead, Amy. He had lost track of Maddie, Paige, and Knuckles somewhere in the forest, while Rouge and Shadow had also slipped under the radar. Vanilla had found her camera and destroyed it on sight.

It was so hard being evil these days. His enemies were surprisingly smart, even the nerd girl Paige. He thought of capturing her just so Sonic would come to her rescue. Then he could slip the green emerald into his collar with ease. In the end, he decided that with all of her blabbering, he'd rather leave her alone than listen to her yacking for 48 hours. Maybe at a later time.

He planned to do something with that Maddie girl. Eggman didn't want her around for the final show because she would figure everything out and ruin it all!

An evil smile grazed his lips. Sonic had responded exactly as planned to his mysterious voice. It was amazing what a microphone and a voice modulator could do to make his enemies believe him.

Of course, Sonic didn't know it was him speaking through the collar and into his mind. Eggman had designed it so that when he gave instructions, they wouldn't be transmitted aloud, but straight into Sonic's head. The hyperactive hedgehog would never have a clue it was him all along.

Now he just had to wait and see if Sonic would believe him. Getting him to listen was one thing, actually getting him to obey was another. The collar's pursuasive power would grow stronger as more chaos emeralds were added. Then, Sonic would be unable to resist the urge of his words.

_Being evil is hard,_ Eggman thought, _but the reward is always worth it._

**Well there's that. I hope it made sense. I think it did, but...eh, I don't know. Hope you enjoyed! More chapters coming soon :3**

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_They should be coming soon. I don't know though. I'm so sorry we've been restricting you to one chapter!_

_- Owlwyng :3_


	18. Trusting the Untrusted

**I'm lazy...just read the chapter x3 **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_REEEEAAAD!_

_- Owlwyng :3_

____

-Trusting the Untrusted-

Back at Vanilla's cozy house, Tails called an emergency meeting with everyone. Me, Paige, Cream, Vanilla, Amy, Knuckles, Tails, and Rouge all met up in her living room. It was a tight squeeze, but we managed to fit everyone in the room.

Of course, Shadow didn't come, but I had a feeling he wouldn't be concerned in our conversation anyways. Tails must of had something pretty serious to discuss if he had everyone together like this. Sonic was missing from the group, though, and that troubled me. If Sonic was the subject, shouldn't he be included in the conversation?

"Hi everyone!" Tails started off, and there were mumbles of greeting. It was obvious no one was too thrilled about being here when they could be doing stuff on their own time instead of sitting in a cramped living room.

"I really appreciate you all coming," he said as he leaned against the coffee table in the middle of the room, "especially since it's such a serious topic."

"Amy and I found one of the four remaining chaos emeralds that aren't located in Sonic's collar," Tails continued. "Two of them, we figured out, are with Eggman. The other is with Shadow."

"I still don't see how this is an emergency," Rouge drawled with a bored expression. Tails ignored her and continued.

"After some research, I calculated that the collar holds negative energy and carries the demands of Eggman." Tails waited expectantly while everyone else stared with blank expressions. "Since Sonic doesn't want to follow those demands, the chaos emeralds send their energy to the collar, thus making Sonic have a battle between himself and Eggman's requests," he clarified.

"This being said, Sonic needs to be kept away from all chaos emeralds, energy, and powers to avoid any unexpected energy bursts to the collar. As the ring grows stronger, the power level increases, and Sonic will become less and less like himself. Does everyone understand?"

"So does that mean I can't use my powers around him?" I asked. I heard Rouge mumble, "What powers?" and I resisted to urge to snap at her..

"Well...I don't think you'll need to use chaos control any time soon...but to be safe, I'd be cautious about what you do and where," Tails stated. I nodded in agreement.

Just then, Shadow appeared, his face completely expressionless. I noticed Paige immediately perk up and scoot over to make room for the unexpected guest.

"Shadow?" Knuckles gaped. "Why are you here?"

"Why do you think, imbicile?" Shadow growled in response. He crossed the room to Tails, shoving Rouge and Cream out of the way as he went.

"Here," he said, sticking out his hand. In his palm sat my white chaos emerald. Amy, who was actually closer to Shadow than Tails, gingerly reached for the sparkling gem. As soon as it touched her fingertips, Shadow was gone in a flash of golden light and a sudden spurt of air.

"That was unexpected!" commented Vanilla obviously. Cream snuggled closer to her and I smiled warmly at the two.

"Why do you think he-"

"Who knows?" Paige cut Amy off, answering her question before she asked it as she scooted back towards me again, obviously disappointed that her hedgehog hadn't stayed longer. "He's Shadow. He has his mysterious reasons."

"I bet he found another chaos emerald, so he's keeping the new one and giving us the reject instead of giving it to Eggman," I guessed.

"How kind," remarked Rouge. I shot her a glare.

"That's a nice idea, but not very reasonable. It's not Shadow's type," Tails explained.

After that, the meeting was closed, and everyone dispersed. Rouge took off faster than a bullet screaming, "Freedom! Sweet, sweet freedom!" as she stretched out her wings and soared into the sky.

As Knuckles started to leave, I pulled him aside where it was just us two. Rouge had made me think about something I wanted to discuss with Knux.

"Knuckles, I dont think I'm a Chosen One," I said immediately. Knux put on his serious face and I knew he was about to become a very wise person instead of the gullible idiot he always was.

"Why do you doubt it?" he asked.

"Aren't Chosen Ones supposed to be strong with their skills?"

"Yeah."

"And have three skills?"

"Three and three only."

"There's two problems with that alone," I huffed, very frustrated. "First, I've only developed one skill, which is chaos control. It's been several years since I discovered I was a Chosen One, so shouldn't I have developed all of them by now?"

"Maddie," Knuckles chuckled, "it may have been many years since you last visited, but here it's only been about three or four months at most. You need to have patience and trust. You'll get all your skills eventually!"

"Okay..." I agreed, not totally convinced. "Second, I'm terrible with chaos control. It takes me a while to get where I want to go and sometimes I don't even chaos control to the right place. I'm super weak afterwards too!"

"You just need practice. A little patience and practice, and you'll be all set!"

"But-"

"Goodbye, Maddie." Knuckles ended the conversation, grinned, and walked out the door. I stared after him as he left. Sometimes, that echidna seemed like a mystery.

Paige put a hand on my shoulder. "You eavesdropped, didn't you?" I asked slyly. She smirked and I sighed.

"Maaaaaaybe," she answered, still smirking. I grinned and hugged her. "I'm sure you'll get your skills soon, Maddie. It's like he said. You need to be patient. They'll come to you!"

There was a sudden loud slam as the door to Vanilla's house flew open. We jumped as Sonic whipped into the room.

"Sonic, could you slow down a little before coming in next time?" I joked. Then I noticed his eyes. They were fearful, wild, and panicked. Something was wrong.

"Sonic..?" Paige said, catching on. I realized that we were the only ones in the room. Vanilla and Cream had left to go into town after the meeting ended and everyone else had disbanded.

"Where's Tails?" Sonic asked with a weird voice.

I knew Tails was out in the backyard, more specifically in the makeshift lab he had created since he was over here a lot with Cream, but something was telling me that Sonic needed to stay away from him at the moment.

"Umm..." I stalled.

Paige nudged me. "He's in the lab, remember?" She turned to Sonic. "Out back!" This was apparently one of the times when she DIDN'T catch on.

As soon as he zoomed out the door, I hissed to Paige, "Did you not see his eyes? Something's wrong! And remember what Tails said?" She stared at me with a blank expression. "To keep Sonic away from chaos emeralds at all costs?" She slowly nodded her head. "And what do you think Tails has with him right now?"

Everything was silent until the lightbulb clicked for Paige.

"Oh my gosh!" she yelped. "We've gotta save Tails!" We both raced to the door and sprinted around the house to the backyard. Once there, we saw Sonic shove open a door and disappear into the shed. Before having any discussions, Paige dashed into the doorway behind him. I sighed and chased after her.

"Sonic! Stay away!" I heard Tails cry frantically from outside the shop.

"I need to tell you something," he replied, ignoring his buddy's cries.

"SONIC!" Paige boomed, slamming the door open for emphasis. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

"Please, just come back outside and then you guys can talk," I coaxed.

Noticing the two chaos emeralds Tails held behind his back, I remembered Paige's words about her chaos emerald jumping into the collar. Sonic didn't seem to be in range yet, but once he was, there would be no stopping the emeralds from leaping into their notches on the collar. We had to figure out a way to lead him away from Tails. But how?

"Why can't we talk alone?" Sonic snapped, somewhat annoyed.

"You can! Just not in here!" Paige answered for Tails.

"And why is that?" he spat.

"There's a surprise for you in here," Tails improvised, "and I don't want you to see it yet!" Sonic looked suspiciously around the workshop before giving him a 'you've got to be kidding me' look. It was a horrible lie, but maybe Sonic would buy it.

I gently approached the tense hedgehog. He was obviously not himself, but not quite under the collar's power it seemed. Maybe somewhere in between?

"This surprise is REALLY important to Tails, so could you pretty please with a chili dog on top come outside?" I gave him a sweet smile. I noticed his eyes brightened slightly at the mention of chili dogs, but then they faded back quickly.

"What I have to discuss is more important than any surprise," Sonic countered.

Paige nudged her way around me. "Why don't you go inside Vanilla's house and have a nice cup of calming tea or something? It's a good place to chat," she pointed out.

"Just let us talk!" Sonic shouted, punching her hard in the stomach. I saw her face scrunch up in pain as she staggered, but she stood strong. Then I realized what she was doing. She was going to have to take a few hits, but she was leading Sonic away from Tails. It was slow, but it would work.

"Stop it!" I cried to the blue hedgehog. He gave me a look as if I were no more than garbage, took another step towards Paige as she backed away, and punched her again with the other hand in the same spot. This time, she let out a wimper that eventually gave way to a cry. I had to bite my lip to keep myself from coming to her rescue.

"Just cut it out already!" I screamed again. "Don't take it out on her, take it out on me!" Paige had taken one for the team, so now it was my turn. I was closer to the door anyways. If Sonic took the bait, Tails would be in the clear.

I got Sonic hook, line, and sinker. He slowly moved his head around Paige, raising his eyebrows with a taunting smirk. Then the hedgehog shoved her to the ground and sauntered over towards me. Playing my role, I shrunk in "fear" and backed towards the door.

This is where everything suddenly changed.

I felt myself behind grabbed from behind and whipped out of the way, before I knew what was happening, I was feeling a hard pain in my stomach and skidding across the grass. As I spit dirt out of my mouth, I turned to see Eggman-wherever he magically appeared from-forcing the cyan chaos emerald into Sonic's collar.

An agonizing scream ricocheted around the workshop and building. It was a cry filled with pain, suffering, anger, hurt, fear, and revenge all stuck into one mouthful of earsplitting sound. It made me cringe just hearing it.

Before Eggman could even start to chuckle his evil laugh, I had pinned him to the ground and kicked him straight in that oversized gut of his. Then I spun and ran back into the workshop.

Sonic had backed up so much to get away from Eggman that he was in range for the other two chaos emeralds. The red gem leaped from Tails's hand, just as Paige had described, into its notch on the collar. Having both hands on the white chaos emerald now, he clutched onto it with all of his strength and will as it jerked wildly to get into the collar.

Every time Paige or I tried to approach, I saw Sonic's eyes. They kept jerking back and forth between the sparkling emerald and dull glassy green, as if fighting over himself. The real Sonic would seem to be telling us to go, to get out and be safe, but the weird controlled Sonic was taunting us, saying we would rather leave our friend and save ourselves than risk our own precious lives.

Tails let out a yelp when the white chaos emerald cut his hand to break free. Sadly, it worked. The white gem flew into Sonic's collar with such speed it could rival his own. Tails immediately ran towards us. He was smart, so he knew it was a bad idea to stay in the corner where he couldn't get free.

We all waited for battle, but the battle didn't come. Instead, Sonic's eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed on the ground with one last moan of pain. He didn't move.

"Is he...dead?" Paige asked tenderly. I was aware of Eggman standing behind us now, using the doorframe for support.

"If you killed him, Eggface, then you're toast," I threatened, not turning to face him, but keeping my eyes on the unmoving hedgehog. Tails gingerly crossed the floor to him and put two fingers on his neck.

"He's not dead," Tails announced.

"Yet," said Eggman.

"What?!" Paige, Tails, and I all exclaimed. The evil scientist put his arms behind him and slowly walked to where we could see him. He chose a spot leaning against a workbench.

"It seems I may have miscalculated," Eggman started, "the amount of energy this hedgehog could obtain." He stroked his bushy mustache and sighed. "Perhaps I should begin explaining," he suggested. No one nodded or moved, but he went on anyways.

"We need to collect the last chaos emerald. It's the only way to get the ring off. Finding it is the problem. I've searched everywhere, but I can't seem to find it. If we team up, I'm positive we can locate it!"

"Hang on," Paige demanded skeptically. "Why do you want to suddenly get the collar off when you put it on in the first place?" I smiled. That was a smart question.

"I can't afford to lose an enemy like Sonic. If he died, beating you children would be a cinch!" Eggman said.

"And don't want to easily take over the world because...?" I asked.

"It's no fun being evil and succeeding if you can't gloat at your success! If Sonic weren't around, it would be simply boring! Us evil types have to have fun too, you know!" he responded.

I raised an eyebrow. "What was the purpose of the collar in the first place?" Tails asked. At the same time, I inquired, "Are you saying the collar is killing him?"

He chose to answer my question. "Yes. The power is overloading with energy and is slowly killing the hyperactive hedgehog. Pain is one thing, death is another. I don't think I could bear being a murderer!"

I put on a face of fake sympathy, but inside, I was telling myself to stay strong. Something was fishy here. I just had to figure out what.

"We'll begin searching immediately," Paige commanded, giving me a look. She understood too. "Tails, find a way to bind him. When he wakes up, he'll cause a heck load of trouble for all of us. If he's tied, he can't do any damage."

"Maddie," she continued, "you're good with communication, so you let everyone know what's going on and make sure everyone is on this. We need all hands available to find this emerald."

She turned to the evil scientist in the doorframe. "Eggman,"-she obviously forced herself to say Eggman instead of Eggface-"you...go do something helpful. Go back to your little base thingy and get whatever you need to help Sonic."

"What about you?" I asked.

"I'll work on getting the Hurricane ready."

"You know how to fly that thing?!"

"Tails has been giving me piloting lessons in my free time. I can fly it pretty smoothly, actually."

"It's true!" Tails piped up.

"We've only been here like two days..." I mumbled, and Paige grinned. "Okay then. Looks like we're all set." I smiled awkwardly.

"I'll see you later?" I asked, staring directly at Paige. "You bet," she replied, smiling.

"Eggman, we'll all meet at Rockridge Point and split into teams in exactly one hour," Tails instructed.

"Agreed." The scientist shook hands with Tails and left.

"I don't trust him," all three of us said at the same time before bursting out laughing.

"I suspect having all the chaos emeralds would cause a major reaction, causing Sonic to go to the ultimate level of destruction and chaos, not release the collar." Tails stated his theory. Paige and I agreed.

"I still think doing our jobs is a good idea. Tails, you can go bind Sonic, Paige, you can apparently get the Hurricane ready for flight, and I'll go warn everybody."

"The only thing that'll be different is in my job," I continued. "Knuckles, Rouge, and I can plan to search for the Master Emerald,"

"Why for the-?"

"Oh! I get it!" Paige cut him off. "If we can locate the Master Emerald, Knuckles can cut off the power from the chaos emeralds!"

I shot Paige a grin. "Exactly,"

"That makes sense!" Tails agreed.

"I'll come with you," my friend suggested, more of pleading than requesting.

"Paige,"-I shook my head and sighed-"I know you want to come, but I honestly think it would be better if you stayed with Tails and the search group."

"I haven't done anything with you, Madz!" she protested, "This whole time, we've always split up and done seperate things! Can't we work together like we always dreamed we would?"

I bit my lip. She gave a convincing argument. I loved Paige like a sister (she practically was with how close we were to each other) but I didn't want to risk her getting injured.

I knew she could get hurt worse being with Eggman, but the whole reason I didn't want her coming was because I didn't want her injury to be at my expense. My fault.

I hated all this emotion stuff. Not only did we all have to deal with the physical blow of all this chaos, but the emotional ties had to stay tied or everything would crumble. It was so confusing and difficult...

"Welcome aboard!" I accepted with a smile before I could change my mind. Paige let out a sound that sounded like a cry of excitment and a breath of relief before tackle hugging me.

Tails just stared at us.

"So where's Rockridge Point?" Paige asked after helping me up off the ground.

"It's near Rings River, where you arrived."

"And almost drowned?"

"That too," Tails joked. I unconsciously felt my left wrist where my com link and mini computer stayed clasped.

"Can you input the coordinates here?" I asked the fox, holding out my arm and gesturing to the device.

A couple minutes later, we had said our farewells to Tails, grabbed our speed equipment and neccisary devices, and were racing towards Angel Island to warn Knuckles.

"What do you think about all of this?" I inquired as I ran with my speed shoes.

"I just want to know what Eggman's up to," she replied, balancing on her Extreme-Gear-in-Training.

"I don't understand what the collar does other than make Sonic go insane."

"And cause him pain," Paige added.

"There's gotta be something we're missing here." I saw my buddy duck under a tree branch, but I wasn't paying attention so it whacked me in the face. I faltered, but continued riding smoothly with a stinging face.

"But what?"

"I don't know...but we need to act fast. If Eggman finds out we're betraying him, things won't be too hot."

"Race ya!" Paige called, speeding ahead.

"Oh, it's on!" I hollered back and picked up the pace.

**What exactly is Eggman planning with the collar? Do you think he's had a change of heart, or does Eggy have an evil plan up his sleeve? **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_More emeralds for the collar of doom. How lovely! See ya later!_

_- Owlwyng :3_


	19. Secrets

**Hey everyone! Special thanks to Catslock for being the first person to favorite me as an author! Writing is my world, and I spend hours everyday writing and editing and making everything as good as I can possibly make it for you guys. x3 I seriously don't know what I'd do without you! As always, happy reading! **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_Thank you guys so much for follows and favorites. They seriously make Epicsonicfan's day!_

_Enjoy!_

_- Owlwyng :3_

____

-Secrets-

Tails stared at the unconscious hedgehog on the floor of the shop. _Poor guy_, he thought. _He never saw it coming._

Now he was faced with the task of transporting Sonic from this workshop to Vanilla's house. He wanted to be gentle, especially since the hedgehog had taken a nasty fall and had hit his head on the way down.

Grabbing Sonic's hands, Tails lifted into the air. The weight of his friend weighed him down tremendously. "One too many chili dogs, buddy!" Tails mumbled to himself.

Somehow, he managed to half drag, half fly Sonic's limp body to the back door of Vanilla's house. After gently setting him down on the steps, he tried the doorknob. Of course, it was somehow locked. Now he had to figure out how to get in the house without being labeled as a criminal who was breaking and entering.

You know how simple tasks become ten times harder when put in a stressful situation? That's exactly what was happening to Tails. He was so confused with the chaos of the ring that he completely forgot about the key under the mat. It was a standard hiding place that even a stranger could've easily found it without even trying. But, as mentioned, Tails was completely wrapped up in the situation and unable to think clearly.

Needless to say, he spent nearly twenty minutes trying to find a way into the house.

As Vanilla and Cream approached their home with bags of groceries, Tails was on the verge of panic sitting on the front steps of the porch. When he noticed them, he nearly collapsed with relief.

"Hi, Tails!" Cream greeted, completely oblivious to his distress. "We got some grapes! I know they're your favorite!"

Tails didn't hesitate to throw his arms around her shoulders. Cream assumed it was because of the grapes and happily hugged him back while Vanilla unlocked the door.

"Tails?" Cream's mother began. "Why is Sonic laying on our doorsteps?" The fox rubbed a hand behind his head, losing all hystericalness. Totally busted.

"We had a little situation with Eggman..."

"Should I get the medical kit?" Cream asked, eyes wide. Tails chuckled.

"I think he's okay, but it wouldn't hurt to check him over," he replied. Cream immediately gave Tails her handful of groceries, hopped over the fallen hedgehog, and dashed into the back part of the house where the first aid kit was located. Tails held back a laugh. She was absolutely adorable.

"Don't be shy! Come inside!" Vanilla invited with a warm smile. He gratefully stepped over Sonic and entered the house, making sure to unlock the back door after setting the groceries down on the counter.

By the time Tails had dragged Sonic into his designated bedroom, Cream had returned with her medical kit. They set Sonic up on the bed with Tails sitting next to him, supporting his limp body so he didn't fall onto the floor. Cream stood facing him with her supplies on the table next to her.

She got to work with quick but gentle hands, humming as she swabbed the cut on his forehead with disinfectant and cleaned out the wound.

As she worked, Tails considered a job for Cream. It would be very helpful if she could pull it off but he didn't want to put her in a position of danger. At least if she got hurt, she could probably take care of herself pretty well. He decided to suggest it and see how she reacted.

"You sure are helpful, Cream."

"Thanks!" The small rabbit giggled. "I'm glad you think that!"

Tails took a breath and straightened Sonic when his head rolled to the side. "Do you think you could do a favor for me?"

"Sure!" she replied, still keeping that perky attitude and enthusiasm.

Tails gently let Sonic fall back on the bed covers and crossed the room to the dresser. Moving it aside with little strain, it revealed a panel of the wall that seemed to open out when unlocked with a code. After he punched the code in, he revealed a pair of running shoes and a set of bracelets that resembled Shadow's inhibitor rings. Tails carried these objects back to the bed.

Together, the fox and the bunny shifted Sonic so he was laying normally on the bed with his head on the pillow and feet towards the end of the bed. Tails gently slipped off his shoes and set them on the floor.

Cream let her curiosity outway her manners and patience. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"These are the shoes I use to train Sonic," Tails answered as he slipped a silver shoe onto Sonic's foot. "They're made of steel and weigh a substantial amount. When Sonic runs, the weight slows him down. Plus, the bottom of the shoes are equipped with a substance that creates friction as he runs. That slows him down ad well. The essential goal is to have him running with these shoes at the same speed as he does normally when we're training. Now, it'll just slow him down if he escapes."

He fastened the strap and then worked on getting the left shoe on. "I get it! What do the bracelets do?" Cream asked, still staying positive.

"The silver pair creates weight that slows him down as he runs, sort of like the shoes. The red pair however,"-he picked up the red bracelets-"alter his environment, creating distractions and obstacles to avoid," he explained.

"I think we need the silver ones," Cream suggested.

"Me too," Tails agreed. While he walked around the bed to reach Sonic's left arm, Cream took the right arm. Each of them slipped a bracelet on one of the azure hedgehog's wrists and clasped it tightly shut.

Sonic moaned, but didn't awake.

"Cream, I need to go help everyone find the last chaos emerald," Tails mentioned.

"As usual," she replied, applying a bandage to Sonic's arm where a small wound was.

"This is a little different," Tails tried again. "I need you to stay here with Sonic."

"What's so different about that?" she questioned.

"Sonic is...a little crazy right now," he began. "With six emeralds in the collar, there's no telling what he'll do when he wakes up. I think we have about an hour and a half to two hours before he wakes up."

"The weights should limit him from moving if he becomes conscious before we return," Tails continued. "But still, Sonic's unstable. It's dangerous."

"I can take care of myself!" she replied. "Plus, Mother's here with me!"

Tails chuckled. "So you'll be okay then?"

"Of course!"

He reached into his belt and tossed her a radio across the bed. "Use that to call me if he wakes up, okay?" Tails held up a matching one.

"You'll be careful, right Tails?" Cream said, a little worried. He stared down at his leg, where a scar trailed its way around his knee up his thigh. It was the scar from the battle on the bridge. He could walk fine now, but it still hurt sometimes. Rouge was the only one still struggling with injuries. Mobians healed quickly.

"Don't worry, Cream," he responded, smiling. He walked to the section of the wall that opened, put the red bracelets back inside, and shut the door but didn't bother to lock it. The bunny helped him scoot the dresser back in it's original spot.

Tails put a finger to his lips, signaling to keep quiet about the secret compartment. Cream zipped her mouth shut and giggled. Then she stood up on her tip-toes and kissed him quickly on the cheek.

Tails could just hear Maddie in the back of his mind saying, "Awww! IT'S SO ADORABLE!" and he blushed.

"Good luck!" she chimed.

"You too," he replied before walking out the door, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"So you're saying that Eggman lied to us?" Knuckles questioned, leaning against a peach tree. He snapped a fruit off and tossed it to Paige.

"Yep," she replied, catching the projectile.

"Not surprising," the echidna said, sighing. "He does that often."

I snickered and snapped a plum off of a nearby branch. "And you fall for it even more often!" Paige and I laughed for a few seconds.

"Ha-ha," Knuckles glared at us. "Very funny."

"So are you in?" I asked once we had quieted down. "We need your help to find the Master Emerald and shut down the chaos emeralds' power."

"Let's do it. But only if that crazy bat doesn't-"

"Doesn't what, Knuckie?" Rouge asked, appearing through the leaves. Her side was still bandaged, but she appeared to be in okay condition. An apple with a single bite in it dangled in her hand.

"-come along," Knuckles finished, glaring at us.

Paige smirked. "We picked her up along the way. You two are gonna work together, and you're gonna like it if I have to tie you two together, got it?" she threatened.

"Don't worry, sweetie," Rouge comforted, approaching the echidna. "Knuckie-Poo and I will have a grand time!" She took a bite of her apple, spraying him with juice in a way that was almost...attractive. He cringed.

"There's no hard feelings about what happened with Paige, right?" I asked directly to Rouge. She smirked, but didn't reply.

"Can we just go already?" Paige requested. I checked the time on my watch. It was already 6:32. We had less than thirty minutes to round up everyone else and then get to the required location.

"Great idea," I replied, grateful for her reminder. "Meet you guys at Rockridge Point?"

"Yeah!" Knuckles burst out before Rouge could respond. She rolled her eyes. "Wouldn't miss it!"

"Okay then...catch you later!" Paige laughed uncertainly. I glanced at my friend. At the same time, we both nodded, and then took off towards Amy's house.

Tails stared at his watch. It was nearly seven o'clock, which was the time they were supposed to meet, and Maddie, Paige, Eggman, and Shadow still hadn't shown up. He was getting worried.

Amy walked over and sat down next to him, propping herself up against the rock formation. "I'm sure they'll be here," Amy comforted genuinely. "They're punctual! Kinda..." Tails didn't reply.

The sun was starting its decent. It wasn't quite setting, but it was nearing it. Monsoon was beginning to fire up again, so dark black clouds formed in the distance. Tails couldn't tell if they were heading towards them or sitting still. Either way, they were going to get caught in one heck of a storm.

Just then, Maddie and Paige zoomed into the clearing, nearly hitting the rock formation Amy and Tails were sitting on.

"Did we...make it?" Maddie panted, leaning against the rock structure for support as she doubled over.

"That was close, but yeah," Tails replied.

"You're lucky...you have...a hoverboard," Maddie gasped to Paige, who wasn't out of breath at all. She grinned and laughed.

"So when is Eggman going to get here?" Rouge asked, clearly bored. "We don't exactly have all day."

"He should be here by now," Knuckles chimed in.

"And what about Shadow?" Paige inquired. "Is he coming?"

Tails stood up on top of the rock formation. "Guys!" he shouted, becoming the leader for the moment. "I'm sure he'll get here soon!"

"Who? Shadow or Eggman?"

"Probably both," he replied. Paige let out a squeal of excitement. I was convinced she was going to abduct Shadow sometime soon.

As if on cue, Eggman appeared, bursting through the trees. He was riding on his new and improved hovercraft...thingy after the last one got wrecked at the battle on the bridge. He had a sly look on his face and I immediately decided not to trust anything he said.

No one said anything for a few seconds. To break the silence, I said, "Hi!" It seemed to work.

"So, what's the plan?" Amy asked. Everyone gathered in a makeshift formation, with Tails and Amy on top of the rocks and the rest of us circling down below. I noticed Shadow silently slip in behind me, saying nothing, and keeping his eyes averted towards Tails. As usual, he had his arms crossed.

The fox scanned the area. "Okay! There's eight of us total. I suggest we split into four teams of two, that way we can cover more ground faster," Tails said. I shot him a look, wondering how our team of four could look for the Master Emerald if we only had two per team. I realized that we could just meet up later on.

"I know we don't have Sonic with us right now," Amy began, "but I feel that we can all work together so that he can fight with us once again. If we can communicate as a team, there's nothing that can stop us!" I was thankful that her speech was short. A long one would have wasted so much time. I didn't notice that Eggman raised his eyebrows in a challenging way to her statement.

Tails took the lead again. "Okay! Partner up, and then pick a direction. At least one member of every team needs to be alert with their com-link. If anyone finds anything, let us know and we'll hurry to Vanilla's house. Is everyone ready?" Tails asked. Cheers responded.

Immediately, Paige turned to me. "I don't even think I need to ask," she said.

"Nope!" I answered and we hugged. Around us, other members teamed up. I knew that Knuckles and Rouge were a team, but I watched to see who else paired with who since I had no idea. Amy went with Eggman and Tails was left with Shadow. They didn't seem to be the best teams, but as long as Amy kept Eggface occupied long enough, we would be okay.

Everyone disbanded until it was only Team Shadow and Team Paige left. Tails and Shadow were on the other side of the rock formation, so Paige and I were unable to see them. We were about to walk around the corner but something Tails said made me freeze and stay out of sight. I pushed Paige against the rock face. She let out an 'oof!' sound.

"Shadow, why are you hiding the chaos emerald?" Tails asked bluntly. The hedgehog said nothing but I could imagine him staring at something in the distance behind Tails.

"I know you have it. I just want to know why." He tried again.

"How did you find out?" Shadow inquired, asking in his way that sounded more like a statement than a question.

Tails was quiet for a second. "My scanner picked up the chaos fields as soon as you came into the clearing," he replied.

Paige tried to shift around me to see them and I shoved her back, giving her a "Don't you dare" stare.

"I know what you're plotting, and I think it will work," Shadow said. "As long as I have the chaos emerald, Sonic will be safe."

"You're doing this for Sonic?"

"I'm doing it because I don't like what Eggman is planning."

"What exactly is he devising?" Tails asked curiously. Paige and I held our breath.

Shadow didn't answer.

"I better notify the othe-"

"No!" Shadow lashed out. "It's better if only you and I know."

"Why?"

"That way everyone believes they are searching for the last chaos emerald and not acting. It also buys the Master Emerald search team some time," Shadow replied.

I gasped and stayed freakishly still as Shadow popped out from behind the stone, looking at something away from us. I hoped that Paige wasn't moving. It would give us away instantly.

Shadow grabbed Tails by the arm rather harshly. "Hang on," he murmured, smirking. The two burst by without noticing us.

"Woah," Paige breathed, stepping away from the rock face.

"Major woah," I replied. "He has the chaos emerald?"

"Apparently!"

"Are you sure he's not betraying us?" I asked. Paige frowned.

"I hope not. For now, I say we trust him," she convinced me. Just then, her com-link beeped. She answered quickly.

"Herro!" she chirped.

"Where are you two?!" I heard Knuckles shout through the speakers. I stood next to Paige so my face was in the camera frame.

"Chill!" I commanded. "We're on our way. Just sit tight!"

"We've been sitting tight for the past five minutes!" he replied loudly. "We don't have any time to lose!"

"We got a little hung up," Paige said. "But the thing that matters is that we're coming now." I heard Knuckles sigh off camera.

"Be there in a flash!" I said energetically before ending the call. With a look to each other, Paige and I took off towards Angel Island once again.

**It was a longer chapter, but I think it had a lot of components so it needed to be long. Anywho, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! The action will arise once again soon, so don't worry about that ^w^**

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_Action is always coming up. Battles,chase scenes,stuff like that. It never is neglected. See you guys next chapter!_

_- Owlwyng :3_


	20. Cries in the Night

**Hey guys! So the action is finally picking up again! With a battle definitely on its way along with the last storm of Monsoon, things are about to get crazy in the next few chapters. I'm so excited to share this with you guys! Enjoy! **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_Things are slowly drawing to an epic !_

_- Owlwyng :3_

-Cries In the Night-

Paige and I met Rouge and Knuckles outside of Eggman's base on Angel Island. We all figured that his base would be a good place to search first.

"I can sense the chaos energy," Knuckles said, ears swiveling, listening for sounds.

"I feel it too," I agreed. Rouge pushed ahead, heading towards the mass of metal that made up Eggman's base.

A few minutes later, Rouge had led us to a grand door leading to what seemed to be a small containment area. "This has gotta be it," she said, running her hand over the smooth surface of the door.

With a swift screw kick, the door had come off its hinges and clattered to the ground. "Wow," Paige breathed.

"Well this is...easy," I said. "No bombarding stampedes of robots, no blaring sirens, no lasers being fired from every direction..." I trailed off.

Paige trotted into the building. "And the Master Emerald in plain sight!" I looked around her; She was right. The Master Emerald was sitting on a pedestal in the center of the room.

The space was pretty interesting. If you were hovering straight over the Master Emerald, the paths would look like an X spoking away from the central platform. Anywhere else was empty space. There weren't any railings, which I personally thought was risky, since anyone could fall off into the abyss at any time. I couldn't tell how far down the fall would be. It was too dark.

Paige's com link rang; she answered it very quickly.

"What are we waiting for?" Knuckles exclaimed, following us ladies into the area, his voice echoing because of the high ceilings. "It's sitting right there! Let's grab it and run before something happens!"

"Hold on, Knucklebrain," Rouge said, grabbing him by the dreadlocks. He yelped but she didn't release her grip. Paige looked over at them curiously and continued talking softly with whoever was on the com link.

"What do you see?" Rouge asked. I opened my mouth to answer but Knuckles cut me off before I could speak.

"MY Master Emerald! Sitting right there!"

"And what do you NOT see?" the bat pressed further.

"Air, wind, gravi-" he started. Rouge slapped him over the head. "I meant HERE!" I held back a laugh, facepalming at Knuckles's ignorance.

"You still can't see those things here.." he mumbled. "Well, there's no railings, or robots, or..." I stopped listening to his rambling and turned to talk to Paige.

She had finished her call and had her, "We need to talk," look on her face that was a mixture of panic, curiosity, and fear. Only Paige could pull that all off at once.

While Rouge and Knuckles continued arguing, we moved closer to the Master Emerald and started chatting about Paige's call.

"Who was it?" I asked.

"Tails," she replied. "He and Shadow are going where Eggman and Amy are. They think that he's planning something."

"Like we are?"

"Pretty much." She plastered a smug grin on her face. "Except we're doing it for then right reasons!" I chuckled and smiled.

Paige's beaming face slowly faded and she stared at the abyss below us. "Maddie?"

"Hm?" I replied, noticing the conversation take a darker tone.

"If I die during this-"

I jerked back, nearly flying off the edge of the platform. "Don't you dare talk like that!" I cried fiercely. "You are NOT going to die!"

"How do you know?" Paige countered softly, still not looking up from the abyss. "You have no idea."

"There isn't going to be a battle! We're going to get the collar off of Sonic and then kick Eggman to the curb. It's as simple as that!"

Paige snorted, finally turning to stare at me with round, frightened eyes. "Yeah right."

My brain felt like it was exploding. It was too much information to hold and keep track of and too much emotional stuff to carry. My thoughts were pretty much mush at this point.

"Maybe you're right," I admitted finally, "so that's why we've got to be prepared."

"Prepared?" Paige questioned, turning her attention to the abyss again.

I nodded. "You and I are going to practice sparring and using different weapons to get us ready for this fight."

"I don't think that was a part of the plan," Knuckles said uncertainly, coming into our conversation.

"Come on, Knux! This is better overall for the group!" Paige persuaded. "You and Rouge can get the Master Emerald while Madz and I practice! It'll help us-"

"Did you just call me Madz?" I interrupted.

"-knock out two things at once!" she continued, ignoring me but grinning. "Our mission was to locate the Master Emerald,"-she turned and pointed to the glistening jewel behind her-"and we found it. Now you two can get it off of that thing while Maddie and I get in some last minute practice."

I put a hand on Knuckles's shoulder. "She's right, Knux. If we aren't skilled than we'll only be a burden in the battle!" I convinced. Knuckles grumbled, but seemed to be leaning towards saying yes.

Rouge joined the conversation. "That's not a half bad idea, you two," she pitched in. "Knuckie, you should let the little girls have their practice." My anger flared when she called us little girls and I noticed Paige's did too, although we said nothing.

"Three against one," I chimed. "Please Knux? Please?"

Knuckles sighed before saying, "Fine...but if either one of you gets hurt, kidnapped, lost, damaged, or abandoned, I'm not coming to save you, okay?" Paige and I giggled and agreed. I knew that Knux really did care about us and our safety on the inside.

"We'll head to Angel Island and grab some weapons. Then we'll practice at Tails's house so we can keep an eye on Sonic," I told Rouge and Knuckles.

"Promise me one thing though," the echidna requested with concerned eyes. "Neither of you are allowed to go into Sonic's room no matter what happens."

"Why?" Paige and I asked at the same time.

"He's unstable right now," Rouge answered. "With only one chaos emerald left to put into the collar, there's no telling how crazy he is. If Sonic comes to while you're in there, it's likely you won't survive if he's controlled by that collar."

It was a scary thought.

"We promise." Paige spoke for both of us. I nodded my approval.

"Okay then. Be safe you two," Knuckles instructed. Rouge just waved with a smirk on her face.

We decided it would be easiest for us to both use her hoverboard. She stood at the front, generally controlling it, while I clung to her and planted myself on the back. We both leaned to steer, but Paige was the eyes to tell us where to steer since I was shorter than her. If I wanted to see anything, I had to lean around. It wasn't the best setup, but I wasn't experienced with riding yet.

"Is this really a good idea?" I asked as we rode.

"What?" Paige shouted at me, unable to hear over the wind apparently.

"IS THIS REALLY A GOOD IDEA?!" I screamed in her ear. She cringed at my volume level.

"I don't know! I guess we'll find out!" It wasn't long til we discovered the answer.

A branch whacked Tails in the face. "Watch where you're going!" he snapped to Shadow, who was still dragging him along by the arm as he ran. He didn't reply, but the fox could see a smirk form on his lips.

"Where ARE we going anyways?" Tails questioned.

"Wherever Amy and Dr. Eggman are!" he replied calmly, yet loudly since it was hard to hear over the rushing wind.

"Why?!" Tails yelped.

Shadow let out a huff. "Amy won't be able to stall him. She may be talkative, but that annoying nuisance lacks skill!"

Tails rolled his eyes. "And are we going to crash the party?"

"'Crash the party' is hardly the term I'd use," Shadow said, mumbling, "Imbecile," under his breath.

"I heard that!" Tails retorted, irritated. Why was he the one to get stuck with HIM? Shadow was never easy to understand and working with him was a challenge.

Shadow stopped sharply which would have sent Tails flying forward into the leaves if it hadn't been for the hedgehog's firm grip on his wrist. "Be quiet," he hissed. Tails rubbed his sore arm, but said nothing as the two peered into the clearing where Amy and Eggman stood.

"Are you sure this is the right place to look?!" Amy's high pitched whine floated to where the pair hid. "We've already searched here!"

"I'm positive. It's nearby!" Eggman responded, glaring at her. Amy huffed.

"I don't understand why you're so persistent about being in THIS spot. What's so special about it?"

"Nothing!"

"Then WHY are we here?"

"To look for the last chaos emerald!"

Amy nearly exploded. "BUT WE'VE ALREADY SEARCHED HERE!"

"I'm looking at something!" Eggman snapped, clearly aggrivated with Amy's acts.

She threw her hands up in the air with a loud sigh of annoyance. "I'm going to search somewhere USEFUL!" she told him with a fed-up tone. "Have fun here with your rocks!" She gestured to the large gray boulders surrounding them. Then, with her hands on her hips, she turned and stomped out of the leaves.

As soon as Amy disappeared, a smirk formed on Eggman's lips.

"This can't be good," Tails murmured. Shadow didn't reply.

The scientist looked to his wrist. From their location, the pair couldn't see what he was looking at, but he was studying it closely.

"What's he looking at?" Tails asked in a hushed tone

"If I knew, do you think I'd tell you?"

"No!"

Shadow smirked. "Exactly," he replied and continued peering through the leaves. Tails sighed with annoyance.

Eggman pressed a button and a map with ten different colored dots digitally popped up, the source point from his wrist. Each one of the buttons was a certain color with a little icon. Tails quickly realized that the icons and colors matched them.

Eggman was tracking where they were all located.

Thinking exactly the same as Tails, the ebony hedgehog grabbed his partner's wrist and bolted far away as fast as he could go.

"I knew he was tracking us!" Paige yelled triumphantly. I cringed and yelped as she pulled the tiny metal tracking device off my neck, the hooks not wanting to let go of my skin.

"It was kinda obvious actually," I stated, but smiled just the same. Paige was grinning from ear to ear. She was so proud of herself for spotting the bugs before I noticed myself.

"Your turn!" I chirped, spinning her around. Sure enough, a little metallic device was stuck on her neck, almost touching her left ear. Paige squirmed at my touch, giggling the whole time. I had forgotten she was ticklish!

"Stop, stop!" she begged, tears coming to her eyes from laughing so hard. I got a good grip on the tracking bug with my pointer finger and thumb and pulled. After applying a good amount of force, it popped off into my palm.

"OUCH!" Paige yipped.

"Sorry!"

"That hurt!"

"Well sooooorry!" I apologized with fake sympathy. She punched me in the shoulder.

"Come on! We've got work to do," she reminded me, winking. We still hadn't figured out how Eggman had gotten the devices on us in the first place. Maybe we'd never know.

Thirty minutes later, we were speeding towards Vanilla's house, this time with me on my speed shoes and Paige alone on her hoverboard. We both had destroyed our trackers by smashing them into oblivion with rocks. Even so, we threw them into a lake before we dashed away.

As we rode, I noticed Paige having stability issues on her hoverboard. She was carrying a bow with a quiver of arrows wrapped around her right shoulder. Her nunchucks were hanging from her belt in a pouch, a tomahawk slung over her other shoulder, and a small sword bobbed at her side in a sheath to match, as well as a handgun in it's case.

It wasn't any easier for me. I had two bow staffs in one hand (I made sure to carry them carefully so they didn't snap from the wind or something) as well as my own bow and quiver attached to my back by duct tape. Of course, I had my main weapon stowed in it's sheath at my side. My belt held a variety of hand knives; an AR15 hung on my other shoulder by an attached strap, and I held an unloaded 20 gauge shotgun in my opposite hand from my bow staffs. Ammo jingled in my pockets and pouches as I ran.

We looked like walking arsenals.

Once we had arrived at Vanilla's, we collapsed in a heap. These were all generally pretty light weapons besides the guns, but once you pile them all together, they seem to weigh a million tons.

We checked in with Vanilla and Cream and warned them both not to go into Sonic's room. Once we were all clear, Paige and I took our weapons and headed to the backyard. There was a big patch of flat ground with soft, springy grass that was good to fall into.

By the time we set everything up, it was nightfall. There was a beautiful full moon that made the surface of the guns shimmer faintly. Thunder clapped in the distance, where a storm was approaching fast.

"I guess we should take turns teaching each other things we know," I suggested, still unsure how this would work. "I mean, you could skillfully take out a lot of enemies with those nunchucks, but I'd probably end up hitting myself in the face if I tried."

Paige chuckled. "Probably!" So we began training. We decided that I would go first, starting with shooting practice.

She had handled guns before, but even still, we went over gun safety just because I had been raised repeating these rules every time I went hunting with my dad. Keep a gun on safety unless it's being used, always keep the gun pointed away from people or objects you can't shoot at, lay your gun down when crossing fences, make sure the gun is facing away from a person when they're down range, and all the thousands of other rules.

I nailed a crudely drawn target to a dead tree about twenty yards away from where Paige was standing. Then once we had proper ear protection, I had her shoot the target with a 20 gauge shotgun as best as she could.

"Make sure you lean forward before you shoot," I reminded gently as I guided her body forward, "because once you pull the trigger, that kick hits you. If you're not leaning forward, you can actually get knocked down if you're tilted backwards."

"This makes my arms sore," she complained at one point.

"You're probably putting the butt of the gun a little to the right of the shoulder pocket. Keep the butt right on your shoulder and it won't hurt as much."

She sighed. "How about we switch to nunchuck lessons?" Paige suggested, a glint in her eyes.

I had a feeling I should have been very, very scared.

Cream the rabbit sat at the dining room table, staring out the window at Paige and Maddie. Her mother was making a late dinner in the kitchen in the other room over.

It was so amazing watching the two spar. The way they moved was almost graceful in a way, dancing without music, but instead with strong and powerful motions. She wanted to grow up and be able to fight like them.

For now, she was still a fragile child that needed to be protected, as if she were a delicate china doll. Sometimes Cream just wished she could be a part of the adventure and action instead of being the support that held the structure up. She was capable of doing things!

"Cream, dear?" Vanilla called from the kitchen. The young bunny trotted to the arched entrance of the room and paused.

"Yes?" she questioned.

"Could you please set the table? Dinner will be ready any minute now!" Cream sighed quietly. This was exactly what she meant. While everyone was off finding the last chaos emerald, she would be sitting and eating a normal dinner.

She plastered a smile on her face. "Yes ma'am!" As she entered the kitchen to grab the forks, Cream looked down the hallway at the door that lead to Sonic's room.

The memory of Paige's warning lingered in her mind. She instantly felt guilty for her thoughts. Why was she thinking like this? It wasn't in her nature to be deceptive. Even still, her brain wandered towards the wild side again.

Maybe she could just peek in on Sonic for a second. He was unconscious, after all. She was also big enough to handle herself! Cream wouldn't mess with the blue hero, only take a look to see if he was alright. No harm in that!

"Mother, I left something in my room. I'll be right back," she lied. She instantly felt guilty, but what could she do now? Vanilla nodded but didn't turn away from her cooking.

When the small rabbit reached Sonic's door, she heard the sound of panicked breathing and nothing else. Cautiously turning the knob, she peaked into the room. Once she had entered, she left the door opened slightly so she could hear sounds in the hallway.

Sonic was still on the bed, weighted down by the bracelets and shoes. He was thrashing wildly, as if stuck in a nightmare without a happy ending. The sheets and covers were tossed off the bed. He was curled up in a ball like he wanted comfort. Her forehead furrowed in sympathy.

Being in her nature, she crossed the room to the bed and pulled the covers back over the hedgehog. It burned Cream's heart to see him in such a state of insanity. Sonic had always been the role model leader-the one that always had a solution to a problem, even if that meant charging in somewhere without a plan.

She missed his cocky banter, his laugh, and the way he made everyone smile in a crisis. Most times, he would take off without telling anyone where he was going or when he'd be back. Sonic often took the time to pick flowers with her and sometimes even make the flower crowns to give to people. Once in a blue moon, he'd actually go on a date with Amy just because he hated seeing her upset. She couldn't believe this had happened to him.

Cream flicked on a lamp next to the bed. Light filled the once dark room, casting odd shadows on the walls and floor. Sonic tried to grab the sheets and then he struck the side of the bed, as if punching something. What is going on in his mind? Cream wondered.

Suddenly, Sonic's eyes snapped open. The young rabbit immediately knew that he was under the collar's influence by the way his eyes were glazed over and unfocused, darting from left to right intently. His hands shook against the fabric and he struggled to sit up, although it wasn't working.

His eyes locked on Cream. They stared at each other for a moment-one with loathing, the other in petrified silence. She scrunched in a ball in the corner for a little protection.

Sonic opened his mouth and started to scream, but he wasn't making any noise. Grabbing at the collar, he tried to rip it off his neck without success.

"P-please, Sonic! Stop!" Her voice quivered as she spoke. He responded by turning sharply and making a move towards her, but luckily the restraints she and Tails had put on his wrists and feet kept him from moving more than a few inches.

Cream eyed the long distance walkie-talkie Tails had left on the table across the room. If the restraints continued to hold the blue hedgehog, she could dart to the table and call him without any mishaps.

Sonic was now growling fiercely at her, jerking and snapping like a wild dog. It was really scary to watch such a good friend get turned into a monster of sorts. Cream wished she could help somehow right away, but she realized that the only way to help was to notify Tails. He'd know what to do.

"Cream? Supper's ready!" Vanilla called from the kitchen.

"I'll be there in just a minute!" she replied, nervously biting her lip. She heard Maddie and Paige enter the house and then a cry from her mother of, "Oh my goodness, Maddie! You poor thing!"

Cautiously, Cream rose from her ball on the floor. Sonic's eyes followed her as she crossed across the room towards the table. With shaking hands, she grasped the walkie-talkie.

Before she could press the button and begin to talk, Paige burst into room with Maddie following close behind. Maddie held a bag of ice to her forehead where a purple lump was beginning to show.

"Cream!" Paige yelled harshly, concern in her eyes. "You promised!"

The extra people and noise was all it took for Sonic to truly lose it. With a screech, he managed to lift one hand and rip off the restraint from the other. Within seconds, he had removed both weighted bracelets and thrown them at Cream. Luckily, they hit the wall behind her, but it still made her yell in fear.

Sonic stood up on the bed, glaring fiercely and baring his teeth at all of them. Paige was standing in front of Maddie protectively. Cream could see tiny flickers of fear dance in her eyes, but she stood strong anyways, protecting the people she loved.

Before anyone could say something to Sonic, he had jumped off the bed and grabbed Paige harshly. Slung over his shoulder, which looked very strange since she was double his size, she punched and squirmed, hoping to get him to let to.

Maddie tried to break his grip, but Sonic only stomped on her toes with his heavy shoes. She howled in pain and leaned against the door.

"LET GO OF ME!" Paige screamed, still flailing madly. With a last look around the room, Sonic smirked and darted down the hall, shoving Maddie out of the way as he did.

"AT LEAST LOOSEN UP A BIT!" Paige's voice echoed down the hallway. Vanilla let out a startled cry, followed by a crash as plates shattered on the kitchen tile.

Maddie shrunk into a little ball by the door, shaking. Her stare fell on Cream. "You promised," she whispered. "You promised!"

Cream felt small and helpless. She just wanted to help; Look at how it turned out! Maybe she was better just helping from the sidelines as always...

She fumbled with the walkie-talkie, struggling to even hold it.

With a sigh, she closed her eyes, pushed the call button, and waited for what seemed like an eternity.

**Okay everyone. I've decided to go ahead and announce this. There's going to be a second book! YAAAAAY! So even though this story is close to its conclusion, there'll be another book with incredible adventures! **

**See you guys tomorrow ;)**

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_We really are nearing the end,guys. It's going to be great._

_Bai!_

_- Owlwyng :3_


	21. The Chapter with No Name

**Hiya guys! I admit, I'm falling behind on chapter posting. I have a lot of stuff to do right now in my life so bare with me for a little while, okay? One chapter a day might have to be the regular for now. Sorry! Anyways, enjoy today's chapter!**

**- Epicsonicfan :D**

_One chapter a day isn't so bad. You're still getting a chapter. Also, we're getting closer to the end so it just makes sense. Suspense!_

_Anyway, enjoy!_

_-Owlwyng :3_

-The Chapter With No Name-

I couldn't believe this was happening. This whole entire trip I had worked so hard, SO hard, trying to keep Paige safe. Now look at what happened.

How could I know what Sonic would do with her? He was pretty delusional at this point. There was no way to tell what was going through his messed-up mind.

"My only question is this: Why?" I asked, still curled in my little ball by the door.

Cream had finished her chat with a very distressed Tails and was now staring at me with a resentful expression. "I'm sorry, Maddie! I just..." she trailed off.

"Just what?"

"I feel so useless sometimes! I'm so young and I can't help out!"

I sighed and came untucked out of my sphere, staying on the ground with my elbows on my knees. "Cream, there's lots of things you help with. Sometimes things that don't seem very important to you are extremely special to us," I explained.

"You're the person that's always there to help out when we need an extra hand. Helping doesn't always mean going off into battle, you know. We have plenty of people for that," I continued, a smile tugging at my lips. "In fact, Paige and I were "useless" in the fight at the bridge. It was too big a task for us, so we just stood out of the way and helped the injured."

"Really?" Her big eyes filled with light.

"Yep. We're pretty unhelpful at times, but that's why we train and do what we can to get better at it. Soon, we'll be able to go off and help fight with a little practice." I stood up and crossed the room to Cream. Her bright eyes sparkled in the yellow lamp light when I kneeled in front of her.

"The same will be with you someday. Until then, we need you to listen to instructions and be safe. Our two jobs are to protect you and others as well as take care of dangerous threats. Did you know you have a super special job too?"

"I do?"

"You have a natural talent of healing people. If anyone is ever hurt, you're always there with the right medical supplies when we need you," I told her.

"You have so much talent that I can't wait to see grow in you." I smiled and put my hand on her cheek. Cream grinned and hugged me. I embraced her back.

"Come on. Let's go see what your mom is up to, together." I stood up, grabbing my ice pack in one closed fist and Cream's hand in the other. We entered the kitchen where Vanilla was busily cleaning shards of glass and food off the floor. She was down on two knees, scooping up the objects with a tiny broom into a dustpan. Cream immediately went to help.

"I'm going after Paige," I announced boldly, "alone." Vanilla glanced up from her work, a dim worry in her eyes.

"If that's what you really feel you should do, I think you should go as well," she agreed. I was surprised by how little of a fight she gave. Her immediate agreement made me rethink what I was doing a little. Normally, Cream's mother would always urge me to change my mind.

I crossed my arms. "Maybe I should ask Amy to come along?" I asked. Vanilla turned her upper body towards me and nodded approvingly. A smirk appeared on her face for a fraction of a second, then quickly melted back into her loving smile.

"That'd be best dear. Wouldn't want Sonic to get you too!" So after packing a small bag with various tools and weapons, saying goodbye to the two rabbits, and calling Amy to set up our plan, I headed off to go save my best friend.

_Genius. That's the only way to describe it_, Eggman thought. After years of plotting plans, making missions, and failing miserably, he had finally done it. This would be the time his plan would work. He was so close! Only one more puzzle piece left to put in its place, and then it would be ready.

"Speaking of my puzzle piece," he muttered, staring at a row of screens showing various locations. On one of them, Maddie was running with her hover shoes straight towards his new base. Eggman grinned evilly. Everything was perfect! Well...almost perfect. Amy was tagging along. It wouldn't be too hard to get rid of her though, and the mission could resume smoothly.

He needed Maddie. At first, he hadn't thought she was important. She was just another enemy to deal with. Then he had discovered something even she herself didn't realize.

_Oh, Maddie_, thought the evil scientist with a smirk. _If only you knew how powerful you are!_

Eggman heard the soft whoosh of the metallic door as it opened to his main lair area. He was immediately greeted by frantic shouting from none other than Paige. He sighed, put a hand on his forehead, and spun his chair around to watch.

"-RIGHT NOW! I MEAN IT!" Paige screamed, kicking and thrashing at Sonic's grip, which still hadn't faltered. The hedgehog had marched Paige in with her arms forced behind her back painfully. Eggman found it amusing to watch her struggle helplessly. Since he didn't know Paige all that well, he decided he would...get to know her better, if you could call it that.

"I've been expecting you!" Eggman said ominously. Paige didn't react as he hoped. She stopped struggling against Sonic, crossed her arms, and grinned.

"Hi!" she cheered, waving as well as she could with Sonic restraining her arms. Suddenly, her head cocked to one side. "You know, now that we're talkin' face to face, you're a lot bigger in person than in the video games." The playful smirk danced across her face.

Eggman's cheeks grew red. "Why you little-!"

"I mean, lay off on the cheese balls!" Paige interupted. "That's WAAAAAY too much gut you got going there."

"I'm going to forget you said that!"

"Whatever," she toyed, still grinning. She turned and looked around Eggman's lair.

It looked similar what she had imagined from Maddie's description of the last base. Lots of buttons and flashing lights blinked everywhere. The large, main computer was directly in front of her, the screen taking up at least half of the wall space. There was a large hanging cage above her to the left that reminded her of a bird cage somewhat. The rest of the room was just glass cases and random gadgets.

Paige grinned and in one swift motion, elbowed Sonic directly in the face with all her might. He let go immediately and yelled in pain. When he moved back to attack her, she launched a nice kick straight to his chest. He went sprawling backwards, eyes blazing with fires of hate.

The blue hedgehog had skill and speed, but she had more height and strength. If Sonic were himself, there would be no way to defeat him, but since he was locked in a sort of demented trance, she still had a small chance.

A slim chance, but still a chance nonetheless.

"GET HER YOU IDIOTIC IMBECILE!" Eggman shouted from his position in front of the computer. Paige rolled her eyes.

"I'm just saving you the trouble of throwing me into here," she explained with an exasperated expression as she pointed to the bird cage. "No need to go all ninja on me."

Paige broke into a run and quickly closed the gap between her and the cage. Leaping onto the side of some electronic thingy that looked kinda like those vintage video games machines that take quarters only, she hoisted herself on top of it. Then she launched herself onto a glass case nearby, crouching to keep her balance.

She gingerly stood up and reached for a hanging light overhead. She had to swing across a large gap to reach the cage. Halfway across, the cord snapped, but her momentum threw her into the open door of the cage.

"Better?" Paige smirked. She clicked her tounge softly, staring at Sonic with a twinge of guilt. "Sorry about that," she apologized honestly.

She regretted hitting Sonic so hard. Blood began to pool out of his nose and you could clearly see the impact point where she kicked him. _This is what I have to do_, she reminded herself._ I can only help if I'm alive._

"I'm going to save you, Sonic," she whispered to herself. "I promise."

Sonic apparently heard because he laughed menacingly and said, "Some people just don't need to be saved," before pulling out a handgun and aiming it straight between her eyes.

We couldn't seem to get there fast enough. Even in the darkness of the night, I could make out the ominous dark storm clouds approaching fast. The full moon lit our path mostly, but Amy and I both strapped flashlights to our foreheads to help us see a little better.

The night was cold, and gusts of wind nipped at our patches of bare skin. I wished I had brought a hoodie with me. The chill sunk deep down into my core and seemed the spread through my veins, in my bones, all the way from my head to my toes.

"Monsoon's almost over," Amy quipped to me, reading my mind as we ran. "Our Spring's are nice and warm. I bet this"-she gestured to the dark looming clouds-"is the final storm before Spring arrives."

She was surprisingly fast. I guess she got all the practice from chasing after Sonic all day or something. While I ran on my speed shoes, she ran beside me, staying close every step of the way. Of course, I slowed down a little bit for her sake, but she still had a lot of speed and agility.

My mind danced from topic to topic. I couldn't focus on one thing for more than a few minutes. It messed up my brain and confused me a little, trying to think about so many things at once. Paige was my main thought, but Sonic, my family, the deadly weapons at my side, Eggman, and my hunger were a couple of other things that flew through my mind every so often.

"I called Tails and told him to meet us here," Amy informed me.

"What? Why?"

"You sure are determined to do things alone, aren't you?" she questioned.

I turned away from her and didn't answer. Sighing, Amy turned away as well.

"I thought that's how it's supposed to be," I confessed, stirring up the conversation again. "The hero goes alone to save the world, right?"

She laughed at me. Flat out giggled til she could barely breathe. "What's so funny?" I demanded.

"That's made for movies and books! Teamwork is ten times better than going alone!"

"But that's not how it's written or shown-"

"Of course it's not!" Amy responded. "The only realistic movies are the ones like biographies and recollections. Books are the exact same way! Anything else is purely made up for entertaining purposes."

"Well I just thought it'd look cooler if I was, y'know, the only hero?"

"Thoughts like that are pretty dangerous. Be careful to not let your pride overtake you and become a hunger for power. Don't want you turning into a power crazed maniac, right?" Amy joked.

Suddenly I felt an intense hurt in my side. My gut burned with sharp, pulsing pain, but it also felt different somehow. It was as if the pain wasn't my own, yet I still felt it, strong and present. My eyes widened.

"Is it possible to feel other's pain through the chaos spirit?" I blurted, doubling over with pain.

Amy's expression shifted from concern to panic. "You'd have to ask Knuckles. I'm not sure, but if I remember right, then yeah." I let out a worried sigh. Paige was hurt, I could feel it.

Literally.

"But only if they have the chaos spirit too," Amy finally confessed.

"What?" I asked. I wasn't sure I'd heard her right. "You mean...?"

"She's got something, Maddie. We're still not sure what exactly it is, but Paige has some form of chaos energy." Her eyes found mine and she gave me an earnest look.

I realized Paige was special too, like me! How awesome was that? She would be ecstatic when she found out! It would be so neat to be fighting side by side, each of us using our powers to vanquish the forces of evil!

Then something clicked in my brain. I wondered if Eggman knew Paige was special too, and that's why he sent Sonic to retrieve her. Maybe her capture wasn't just impulse, but an order. Maybe he had known the whole time.

"Come on, Amy," I cried with a renewed strength. "Let's go crack some eggs!"

A cheesy line, but one that drove us forward all the same.

**Hope you enjoyed! We learned that Paige has chaos abilities, but the question is, what? Thanks for all your follows, favorites, comments, and overall support. You guys are my WORLD! Love you!**

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

"_The Chapter with No Name" I love it! That's the best! XD Anyway, you guys rock since I'm obviously not doing my job. I'm sorry and I really want to make it up to you all. Keep being amazing!_

_- Owlwyng :3_


	22. Light and Dark

**Hey everyone! Happy April Fools day! Don't worry. I'm not going to be the author that tries to convince you I'm leaving the site or I'm discontinuing the story...**

Probably :3

Anyways, we're almost to the end of the book! Only a few chapters left now. I'm so excited for the next book! I'm thinking this might be a trilogy, but I'm not sure yet. I really like the characters of Maddie and Paige so I might just write a ton of books with them. I don't know right now. Enjoy the chapter!

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_Hope you guys had a great April Fools day! I'm really sad that the book is coming to an end, but am so ready for the next book._

_- Owlwyng :3_

-Light and Dark-

Staring down the barrel of a gun is something Paige never imagined she'd have to experience. Yet here she was, doing just so.

The possibility for being shot wasn't what was making her shake with fear, but the fact that it was her hero threatening her life. Sonic the Hedgehog held the gun strong and steady, pointed at Paige's head. She felt so exposed now, so open and vulnerable.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Please, put that thing away," she begged.

"Sonic, what are you doing?" Eggman asked. Her eyes widened. If Eggman didn't ask him to pull a gun on her, then why was Sonic doing it? He'd never point a gun at her for fun. In fact, guns didn't seem to be Sonic's style. Did he have some sort of hidden plan?

She looked closely at Sonic's eyes. They were bright emerald green, sparkling with mischief, instead of the dull, glazed over lime they were when he was under the influence of the collar. To make it clear, Sonic winked at her.

He was back to normal! The effects of the recent chaos emerald addition must have worn off! Paige could sense the glint in Sonic's eyes and saw a mischievous grin hinting at the corners of his smile.

Although he was back, he wasn't up to full strength yet. Paige could see the weakness in Sonic's stance, in his breathing. He still had to recover some.

Before the blue hedgehog could do so much as to move from his position, the entire gang busted down the main door, striking an epic pose while doing so. Maddie stood at the front of the group holding her gun pointed upwards and smiling evilly. Tails, Amy, Shadow, Rouge, and Knuckles stood behind her. The Master Emerald was sitting safely in Knuckles's arms. Paige simply smiled and waved.

Suddenly the ground started to shake beneath their feet. "It's an earthquake!" someone shouted, which she identified after a second as Amy. "Take cover!"

"No, it's THAT!" cried Tails in response.

The metal shredded beneath them as a massive gaping hole opened in the center of the lair. Eggman's evil laugh bounced around the enclosed space while the gigantic robot climbed out of the hole.

It was very very tall, with a silver body and red highlights. It's head was big enough to support a control room. The top was crested with a yellow Mohawk type thingy and yellow spikes radiated around his wrists. Each foot was incased with a red boot with a yellow spike driving out the side. It was pretty menacing to look at.

"At last, my plan will finally come to be!" Eggman cackled. "All it took was a little decoy like Paige and you all were here in a flash!" Paige closed her eyes and balled her hands into fists. He was going to pay for all the damage he had done.

Even if she died achieving it.

Across the room, I noticed Sonic squeeze his hands into fists and curl his lips into a snarl. I could see Eggman up in the head of the massive beast. Although he was far above, I could still make out the control panel in front of him.

"But,"-he paused for effect-"there's still one thing missing..." With a grand gesture, Eggman pushed a button on the panel. I dodged, but not fast enough. The giant robot arm came crashing down on top of me. The hand was holding me so tightly I felt that my lungs were going to pop. As the metal arm pulled me high into the air, I heard Paige cry, "PUT HER DOWN, EGGMAN!"

He laughed evilly. "Oh, not to worry! I will,"-another pause-"as soon as she hands over the last chaos emerald!" Eggman pressed another button on the control board. The robot's fist squeezed tighter on me. I squirmed and struggled as much as I could but eventually just hung there.

"Gah...augh...!" I coughed. It was hard to breathe, let alone talk. "I don't have it!" I finally managed to get out a few words. My eyes found Shadow with ease. I knew he had it. All he had to do was say so and I would be free.

"Eggman, she's telling the truth! Now put her down!" Sonic yelled, fire in his eyes.

"Ah, welcome back Sonic! We've missed you! Although I have to say that I'm very impressed with all the destruction you've left in your wake!" Eggman greeted. "I never thought you were one to hurt people's feelings, destroy towns, stuff like that."

"It was you controlling me!"

"Yet you had the power to stop me," he countered. "This whole time you've been able to resist, Sonic. You've just chosen not to."

"I didn't choose to do this! Any of this!"

"Riiiiiight. Anywho, we still need that last chaos emerald!" Eggman made the robot squeeze his fist again. "Hand it over!"

"I...told you, I don't...have it! And if...I did, I'd NEVER hand it...over to...you!" I screamed with dignity.

Amy hollered from down below, "Way to go, girl!" The robot's grip on me was so tight that I could barely breathe. I struggled to get a single breath. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Paige's eyes flickering to Shadow.

It was only a few seconds after that she exploded. "Shadow!" she bellowed. With a swift kick, she busted down the cage door she had been imprisioned in. My best friend was pinning him to the floor before anyone could tell her otherwise.

"Give him the chaos emerald!" Paige screeched. I recoiled when Shadow delivered an impressive punch to her jaw. Smirking, he stood on top of her.

"STOP IT! ALL OF YOU!" Knuckles cried. The fighting ceased. "Shadow is not the enemy here! Now are we going to unite against THAT," he questioned with authority, pointing towards the robot that held me in a death grip, "or are we going to stand around and argue all day?!" Halfhearted mumbles answered his cry.

Paige shoved Shadow off of her, holding her mouth. Both hands withdrew from her face blood stained. Even from way up high, I could see the pure awe in her eyes. Although she must have been in tremendous pain, this was probably the best thing that had ever happened to her in her life.

Eggman suddenly spoke again. "Shadow? I'm a little surprised at you. I thought you were on my side! Oh well. It's really only your loss. When one is lost, I'll have ten more to replace you!" I had almost forgotten he was there in the first place. Then I started trying to process what he said.

"Clones," I whispered, but the thought was soon lost as Eggman guided the robot's hand down on Shadow. He was ensnared just like me within a matter of seconds. It wasn't too much longer when the last beautiful chaos emerald fell away from the ebony hedgehog.

"Do you know what you've done?!" Shadow growled to Paige. She didn't back down, but stayed strong.

"Did we really think we could keep the chaos emerald hidden for forever?" she reasoned. "The only way to get that collar off is to end this, once and for all!"

Rouge finally spoke up. "The kid's got a point. I was getting a little bored with this whole thing anyways."

There's only so much pressure a body can take before it just snaps. I was starting to believe mine was about to. It was insane the amount of force he was planting on my body! The pain was everywhere-from my toes all the way up to my head. A monster headache ate it's way through my skull and pounded harder than any pain I'd ever experienced.

Then suddenly, Paige collapsed on the ground below me. No one had been standing near her. There was no gun shot. She just...fell to the ground.

Choruses of, "Paige!" hit the walls as a flurry of motion erupted below me. I found my own voice joining their's within seconds, but it didn't sound like my voice. It was a weak, helpless cry of fear. I wasn't the strong, sensible Maddie anymore. I had given up.

Then something else happened to make things even better.

A loud crack hit the air, echoing around the lab. I was vaguely aware that the sound came from me. I wouldn't have been too suprised if the noise was my own bones snapping in two. I couldn't even tell if there was any change since the pain was so intense. I screamed, but my throat was raw and I barely had any air in my lungs.

Everything was happening so suddenly. No warnings arose for any of this. Just rapid successions of actions and motions.

My body jerked back for a second. This time, I could feel a difference in me. Whatever little shred of strength I had left immediately dispersed. The tiny bit of hope, of tranquility, of any plans for escape completely disappeared. I was drained entirely.

A little yellow mass of light appeared in front of me. Burning bright, little ribbons of color swirled around it. I was curious as to what it was, but then Eggman began explaining after an evil laugh.

"It was right! I knew it was right! Finally, it's mine!" he cried, dancing a little jig in his room in the head of the robot.

"What are you talking about, Eggman?" Amy called from below.

"All of Maddie's energy is in that orb! Everything that makes her able to travel between Mobius and Earth, every special power she's ever recieved, anything she'll ever get in the future! It's all there!"

On the floor, Paige came to. She was evidentially in a lot of pain from the look of it, but she was strong enough to yell, "Why do you want it?" up to Eggman.

"Stupid girl!" he replied. "It's her power! If I have it, she has none! And as a bonus...it also allows me to power countless robots and machinery stronger than anything I've ever created before!" Well this sucks, I found myself thinking.

"Then what's the collar all about, Eggy?" Rouge asked, hands on her hips.

"Maddie's energy wasn't a part of my plan originally. But since she came, it's just a little treat!" He laughed evilly. "Now onto more important matters..." he mumbled, pressing a button on the dash. The robot finally released it's grip on me. I fell hard and fast. I was so weak, I didn't even flail. I just let myself fall.

"I gotcha!" Knuckles hollered, diving and catching me seconds before I hit the ground. We rolled over twice before he set me down next to Paige.

"Thanks, Knux," I murmured.

"No problem, kid. Hang in there."

To recap the situation, Paige, Sonic, and I were all very weak from various things. Eggman had my energy as well as the last chaos emerald. Shadow was still ensnared up above. Oh yeah, and the giant robot towering above us didn't look too good either.

With the robot's free hand, it scooped down and picked up Sonic. Normally, he could break free in an instant, but with the circumstances, he was too weak to even try. He hung powerless in the robot's grip.

Sonic knew what was coming. You could see it in his eyes. As the final chaos emerald was inserted into his collar, he gave us a last look of regret, and let it happen.

None of us really knew what to expect. We had never dealt with anything like this before. So when Sonic suddenly turned into Dark Sonic, it was quite a shock.

Paige's eyes lit up when she saw Dark Sonic. Not exactly the reaction I thought she'd have, but at least she was aware of what was going on and not in some sort of shock coma or something bizarre like that.

All heck broke loose then. Eggman let the ammo fly. Bolts of electricity zapped just above our heads, bullets zinged as they hit the metal surrounding us, and ripped shrapnel lay around us as the robot punched, kicked, and hurled objects around. Dark Sonic began destroying everything.

"Tails!" I shouted.

"What?!" he yelled back, flying closer to me. Paige began to drag me behind a large, round, random dome of metal behind us. We were both weak, but she had more strength than I did right now.

"Do you guys remember anything from games, shows, or comics?"

He paused in thought. "Some things. Other memories are stored in the Maze of Games!"

"The Maze of whats?" Paige called.

"Never mind! Mostly yes! Why?" My skin came in contact with the metal dome. It was icy cold and I cringed at the touch.

"Just wondering if you remembered Sonic turning into that"-I gestured to Dark Sonic destroying the main computer-"from season 3 of Sonic X."

"This has happened before?!" Amy cried as she swung her mallet hard into the robot's leg. It made an indention in the metal, but the robot didn't go down.

Paige sighed. "I take that as a no."

"What happened to Sonic?" Knuckles shouted to us from across the room. He was currently attempting to climb up to the head of the robot where Eggman was located.

"He turned into Dark Sonic; now he's increased his speed and strength dramatically," Paige explained briefly.

Shadow let out an epic cry as he completely exploded the robot's hand, where he had been hanging the entire time. I felt bad since I had forgotten he was there. At the same time, Dark Sonic dashed through the wall nearest to him and disappeared into the forest outside. The wall crumbled as white powder and debris filled the air in a large cloud.

I pushed myself up to a sitting position with my hands. "He'll destroy the whole planet!" I warned. Immediately afterwards, I fell back to the ground. Eggman had taken the fight right out of me. Literally.

Determination shined on Paige's face. Since I was down for the count, she stepped up to take my place as leader. "Everyone! Follow Sonic! We can't let him get away!" Tails nodded and led the gang out of the hole and into the night. Shadow followed behind them all, pure rage radiating from him.

Paige stood up, leaving me behind the metal dome. "HEY EGGFACE!" she called up to him. A triumphant smirk played across her lips. "EVERYONE'S GETTING AWAY!"

"Oh no you don't, Sonic!" Eggman guided the robot through the wall and gave chase to our heroes. Debris fell from the fresh hole and another white cloud climbed into the air.

"Now what?" I asked weakly. Paige and I were the only ones left in the ruined base.

"This," she answered, picking me up gently and setting me on her hoverboard.

"What are you doing?"

"We've got to get your chaos force, energy, or whatever the heck that orb was, back!" I shot her a worried glance. "Don't worry! I got your back."

"You're gonna get yourself killed..." I moaned, feeling a fresh wave of pain.

"I'm not planning on it." She winked at me. "Let's go save the world!"

**Thanks for reading! Again, happy April Fools day! **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_You guys are amazing! See you guys tomorrow._

_- Owlwyng :3_


	23. A Shot in the Dark

**Hey everyone! The moment is finally here! The big showdown between good and evil! With Dark Sonic now fighting on Eggman's side, the table's have turned! Who will come out as the victor? Read on to find out!**

**Also, werewolf lover99 suggested that in the next book in the series, I should include fan-made characters. Basically that would mean you guys could send me a detailed description of your own character you created that you want to see in the next book. I was really intrigued by this idea! I think it's a fabulous idea but on the other hand I'm not sure if it would be a good idea. So I've decided to leave it up to you! Check the poll and vote now to decide whether or not your fan-made characters get included in the next book! Thanks guys! The poll will be open until the end of this book. Please, go ahead and vote! I really need to know! ^u^**

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_ I would bore you but just go ahead and enjoy._

_- Owlwyng :3_

-A Shot in the Dark-

We reached the clearing just as Eggman unleashed his entire arsenal. Robots dropped from nowhere, bullets flew from every direction, and lasers fired just above our heads.

Paige quickly sat me down underneath a tree before rushing in to join the fight. Rouge stood by me a moment later, tense and ready.

"We've got company!" the bat called in warning. A robot tried to pin me against the tree. Even from a sitting position, I could swing my sword pretty forcefully. I slashed my sword straight through the robot, watching as the two halves clattered the the ground in front of me. Sparks flew into the night air.

Paige was absolutely demolishing any robots that came her way. I swear she destroyed around four in about ten seconds. Now that the danger had left me, Rouge joined Paige in the fight. She and the bat worked back to back to help mow them down even faster.

I watched Eggman's robot curiously. The scientist hadn't shouted its name, if it even had one. Thinking with a foggy mind, I decided to name Eggman's machine Dream Crusher. It did fit, after all, however stupid the name sounded.

This robot reminded me of Metal Fangs, the metallic spider I had battled last time I was in Mobius. I had gotten trapped inside the control room when Metal Fangs was just about to explode. Luckily, I had a chaos emerald with me, and I was able to chaos control away. It was the first time I had ever chaos controlled before.

The memory was bittersweet.

Knuckles and Shadow were still fighting Dark Sonic. Tails joined them a moment later, retreating from his mission to find a way into the head of Dream Crusher after he had nearly gotten his tail burned off by a laser.

That left Amy with me. I saw her heading my way and I forced myself to stand. "No no no," she argued once she reached me, putting her hand on my shoulder and gently pushing me back down. "I'm here to cover you."

She wanted to cover me? I didn't need COVER. I was perfectly fine on my own, thank you very much! I was weak, not crippled. Geez!

A robot landed behind Amy and I fired, taking it down with three shots. Apparently there was one behind me too, because she swung her hammer and nearly hit me in the face in the process.

"So what exactly," Rouge screamed up to Eggman, stopping to take out two robots, "is your plan, Eggy?"

"If you can't beat 'em, have them join you!" Eggman answered with a smirk that even I could see from my position on the ground.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Knuckles raged.

The evil scientist sighed. "With Sonic under the collar's power, he's unable to control himself! He'll do whatever I order him to do! He's my little blue slave!"

"You know we'll stop you, Eggman!" Amy cried.

"Not if I make clones! I now have the power to do just that! With hundreds of evil Sonics rampaging Mobius, I can finally create the Eggman empire and take over the world!" He laughed and gleefully started pressing buttons in almost a comical fashion. Missiles flew from the robot's chest and we all dove for cover.

All except for Dark Sonic, who was walking toward me REALLY creepily. It was unnerving, watching him charge through the clouds of puffy grey smoke, completely white pupil-less eyes seeing coldly into my soul. A dark blackish purple aura was grabbing at the world around it like it was trying to yank the life out of everything nearby.

Dark Sonic jumped on me with such speed, I was stunned. None of my weapons would work against him. Well, they would work, but he'd be dead, and I didn't want to kill him. Even if I had wanted to use my sword or pistol, I couldn't have used them anyways, because he had my arms pinned painfully underneath me.

His strength had increased with his speed. Although he weighed less than me, he easily kept me forced under him. I could almost feel the evil seeping into me from him, cold and merciless. To be honest, I was petrified.

Amy swung her hammer and smashed Dark Sonic so hard, he flew and hit Dream Crusher straight in the chest. It was enough force to make the robot stagger backwards a little. As the pink hedgehog helped me up, I saw Dark Sonic retaliate, except this time, he was headed for Paige and Rouge.

I needed a weapon. Something that wouldn't seriously injure or kill him, just something to immobilize him enough for Knuckles to say his chant and get the chaos emeralds out of that collar. I could've used a bow staff, but I had left it back at Eggman's demolished base. All my other weapons were deathly assault types.

Time for improvisation, I thought with a bitter tone. I unlooped my belt from my jeans and gripped it with both hands, keeping it slack so that the brown leather dangled in front of me. Then I yanked the two sides out, snapping it like a whip with quick, jerked motions. It wasn't perfect and it was actually kinda stupid, but it'd have to do.

Amy and I were about to go charge Dark Sonic, but something I saw made my blood run cold.

He was holding a gun to Paige's head.

Rouge was sprawled on the ground, holding her side and moaning. She hadn't been shot-I would've heard the sound from the gun-but she was definitely wounded. My best friend had been forced to her knees. She kneeled there on the ground, hands outstretched slightly towards me, palms out, eyes wild and frantic, like a deer caught in headlights. Her whole body visibly shook. I took a step towards them.

"Stay where you are!" Dark Sonic shouted in an almost demonic voice. It was still his, but you could just hear and feel the hatred seeping out of his words.

"Put the gun down," I pleaded. Dark Sonic grinned and chuckled menacingly, evilly. His finger played dangerously close to the trigger. I dropped my silly belt weapon in the grass and took another tentative step towards them.

"I said put it away!" I screamed. Anger and fear and chaos came rushing out of me. I found an inner strength I didn't know I had. Yet...the strength felt unnatural. Dark. Evil. I wasn't using pure emotions to channel good actions. I was using pure loathing as my drive. Putting my face in my hands, I found myself shaking.

This wasn't what I wanted. No, this wasn't what I wanted at all. I needed to stop this madness. I was weak, I was tired. I wanted to give up so badly. This seemed impossible. How could I do anything to help anyone with no powers? Eggman had my energy. He had taken my spirit. I had nothing to fight for anymore.

"The little girl wants her mama?" Dark Sonic taunted Paige. "You aren't so strong and courageous now, are ya?" Paige didn't reply.

"Say it!" he jeered. "Say you aren't strong! You're just a little girl!" She mumbled something, tears in her eyes.

"Louder!" Dark Sonic commanded. I barely heard her say 'not strong'. He pressed the gun firmly against her temple, glaring with such a burning anger. "You're just an ugly, stupid girl!"

Suddenly, my friend exploded. She got up off of the ground on shaking legs. The gun had been knocked away from her head. "I don't care WHAT you say to me!" Paige howled, determination in her voice. "I KNOW I'M STRONG! I KNOW I'M BEAUTIFUL! AND I KNOW THAT YOU-"

Dark Sonic pulled the trigger.

I screamed, but it didn't sound like my voice. A flash of light lit the darkness. I felt myself falling to the ground, sobbing hysterically. One thought pierced my mind: Paige had been shot. Was she dead? No, I could see her writhing on the ground. She was alive. She was alive.

This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening. I started hyperventilating, shaking uncontrollably, sobbing and rolling and shouting things I didn't understand. I could hear Dark Sonic laughed maniacally in the distance.

There was a pain in my chest that burned like fire in a volcano on the sun. I barely registered that this was Paige's pain that I was feeling, not my own. My nerves were going insane. I felt like I couldn't breathe.

Screaming.

Flashes of light, flashes of pain.

No where to hide.

No way out.

Pleading.

Screeches of metal on metal.

More pain.

Everything was a blur, like someone had pressed the fast forward button on the TV. I was vaguely aware of being dragged, thrown, smashed.

So much pain.

Amy darted away from me, yelling for someone to get first aid immediately. As she bolted, I forced myself to roll onto my stomach. The pain was too intense to stand or even get on my knees, so I began to crawl. It was a slow process and every few feet, I'd have to stop and take a deep breath before moving again.

Somehow I managed to slowly make my way over to where Paige lay. She was crumpled on the ground. Her breath came in ragged gasps. Her chest didn't rise and fall normally, but it jerked up and down in sharp motions.

And the blood. Oh gosh, there was so much blood.

"M-Maddie," she croaked as she stretched her hand out towards me. "I'm sorry," she whispered. I found where the bullet had hit her. It wasn't in her chest, thank God, but it was deadly close. I couldn't exactly tell where it was, but from what I could tell, it was just below her rib cage. There had to be some internal damage.

Paige was definately shot on the left side though. I could tell from the blood that poured out of her and stained her shirt, my hands, and seeped into the grass. She coughed and blood stained my shirt in bright red splatters.

"Don't say that," I demanded rather harshly. "You're gonna live," I told her, more gentle this time. I got to work getting the bottom part of her shirt off. The fabric wouldn't rip, for the blood made my fingers slippery. It made me increasingly frustrated. Then I remembered I had a pair of small scissors as an attachment on my wrist communicator. With fumbling hands, I cut her shirt off an inch or two above her wound.

"It hurts," Paige mumbled, her voice barely a whisper. She closed her eyes and for a moment my heart leaped. She was losing a lot of blood; she looked so pale. Then she opened her eyes again. I calmed down a bit, still feeling helpless. I didn't want her to die. She couldn't die. She just couldn't! "I know," I whispered back, stroking her as comfortingly as I could.

I didn't know what to do. My best buddy would die if I didn't do something, and fast. We were miles from any doctor, Cream wasn't here to help, and there wasn't anything we could do here. We were running out of time! I could already see the life draining out of her...

Paige and I were in our own little world. Around us, the battle raged on. I doubted anyone besides Amy knew she was even shot. Dark Sonic had fled to go attack someone else when I first ran to Paige's side.

I stared at the stars. Like little twinkling sky guardians, they owned the night and watched from above. The stars were just so beautiful. I could see Paige gazing at them. If she were to die, she would leave the world with her best friend, staring up at the gorgeous sky. I blinked back more tears.

My eyes flashed to Eggman at the top of Dream Crusher. He didn't seem to be the least bit interested in us. My temper flared again, but I fought to control it.

Suddenly, an idea struck me. It made my heart crumble to leave Paige alone, but if I could do this, I could save her life. I didn't care that I would probably lose my own life as I knew it. All I cared about at this point was not letting her die.

I held her tight to me, pulling her close in a hug that could possibly be our last. "Don't die on me, Paige."

"Don't leave me," she pleaded with a strained, raspy sounding voice. She grabbed my wrist with as much strength she had left in her. A cough splattered blood on my arm.

I broke away from her with tears in my eyes. I hated to do this, but I knew it was the right thing. I looked at her one last time, laying there in the grass, moonlight shining down on her crumpled figure. The red stained the bright green grass like an early Christmas party. I turned and stumbled off towards the robot towering above us, sobbing.

Paige screamed my name behind me six or seven times, but still I didn't go back. It shattered my heart into a million pieces, but I forced myself to keep walking forward and not turn around.

Two robots blocked my path in front of me. I was in so much pain, I didn't really want to fight them, but the rage inside me overtook the hurt. I drew my sword out slowly and jabbed forward quickly, catching them off gaurd. My weapon went completely through the chest of the robot on the left. As it clattered to the ground, sparks shot out of it's open circuitry.

I slashed the one on the right straight down the center, splitting it into two halves. They were both disabled in a matter of seconds. Letting my anger out on these two enemies was strangely satisfying. But I didn't have time to fantasize, I had a job to do.

I bent down and picked up the grappling hook that one of the robots had been holding. This was exactly what I needed. I kept my sword drawn, but I held it awkwardly since I was sorta hunched over.

The pain was getting worse. The fire spread rapidly, so to speak. I clutched my side as I stumbled blindly towards Dream Crusher. I could only imagine the pain Paige must have been experiencing.

Eventually, I ended up standing directly by the right foot of the massive robot. Dream Crusher towered above me, trying to punch Rouge into a tree as she soared in the air up above. She seemed to have recovered quite well.

I aimed and fired the grappling hook upwards. The silver hooks caught on one of the parts connecting to what would be the neck if the robot were a human. I wrapped the cord around my body and pressed the red button, pulling me up into the air. Swinging slightly, I let the hook hold my weight and lift me up.

As soon as I had landed on the neck of Dream Crusher, I steadied myself by holding onto the folds of the metal. The robot was moving violently so I was forced to stay crouched on my knees or else I would fall off.

I felt so close to the stars. Sitting on top of the world, I forgot the violence and the hatred for a moment. I just felt the earth, the air, the coolness of the night that made my breath curls in wisps in front of me. I was a part of this world. It was a part of me.

I readied my sword again. I could see Eggman through the glass of the head of the robot. He wasn't paying me any mind, lost in his own evil little world. With a glint in my eye, I gripped the hilt of my sword with both hands and swung hard. It shattered the glass into hundreds of tiny pieces. Cringing, I hissed in pain as a rather large shard cut my cheek. A warm, sticky trail of blood trickled down my face and pooled at my chin.

Eggman jumped in surprise when I catapulted into the head. After landing, I put away my sword. I didn't want any violence, but I could feel the hate rising in my chest.

"M-Maddie!" he stuttered, arms extended as if that would keep me away. "Such a shame what happened to your friend...if I had known that would happen, I would have told him to knock it off! I swear!"

I hated how he was trying to bargain his way out of this. Paige was lying down there half dead because of him and his stupid plans. It was all his fault! I despised how carefree he seemed...didn't he realize what he had done? It was unforgivable!

"I don't want your pitiful excuses!" I spat with disgust. "I just came to take this"-I gestured to the swirling yellow ball of light that was apparently my chaos energy in the case across the room-"and save my best friend's life!" We both stood staring at each other for a few long moments.

Eggman chuckled. "And you really think I'm going to just hand it over to you?"

"Nah," I agreed, grinning slightly. "But you can give it to him." The scientist turned in surprise just in time to watch Knuckles salute with two fingers and jump out of the head with my energy in tow. I laughed and sprinted across the room to join him.

Knuckles caught me before I hit the ground and we high fived. The look on Eggman's face had been priceless!

"I think this is yours," the echidna said softly. He extended his arms with my energy ball in his hands. I hesitated, unsure, but after another moment, I grabbed the yellow mass.

I saw flashes of images once my hands came in physical contact with the sphere. Everything moved too fast for me to get a clear picture, but I could tell most of them were about Paige. The others were tortuous images of screaming and blood.

I shook my head to clear my mind of the things I'd seen and pressed onward, stumbling towards Paige with all my strength left. My body was protesting, screaming to sit down and rest, but I refused. This was something I had to do.

When I reached Paige, my face paled. She looked absolutely horrible. Dried blood crusted her lips-probably from her coughing-her shirt was a wreck, and her hair looked so gnarled and covered in grass that it literally looked like a bird's nest. Speaking of grass, it was stained a dark shade of red, almost claret, in her surrounding area. Her eyes were closed. She was still breathing, but barely.

I didn't waste any time. With as loud of a voice I could muster, I mumbled, "I'm here" and forced my chaos energy into her chest. It went through her shirt and skin, melting to the inside.

I waited for something to happen. Some ray of light to come shooting out of her or Paige's eyes to suddenly start fluttering open. Some sort of sign that I had saved her life.

There was absolutely nothing.

I started to cry. Most of it was in sorrow, but a small piece was part hope. In all of the fantasy movies, when someone important cried on a dead person, something magical would happen and they would come back to life. A lone tear fell onto her cheek. Still nothing happened. She wasn't even sixteen yet. She was so young. There was a palpable sense of loss in the air.

Now the real tears came. I was so weak that I collapsed on top of Paige. Breathing heavily, I sobbed and cried and kept my head pressed against her chest, no longer hearing the faint, unsteady beat of her heart. Paige was dead.

And then it was as if life was thrown into her.

Paige's eyes flew open. I noticed something immediately: they were GOLD. A shimmering bright gold that seemed to almost radiate energy.

She got to her feet slowly and I saw another thing. Paige seemed to be healed. At least, on the inside. The blood still stained her shirt thoroughly and her hair was still slightly matted with blood, but she wasn't hunched over. She had no pain registering on her face. It was as if my best friend had never been shot. I remembered that our pains were connected, and I was grateful to realize that I didn't feel any pain either.

Paige pulled me to my feet. We embraced in a hug that was more me leaning on her entirely and her trying to hold me up, but we'll call it a hug anyways.

"I can't believe you did that," Paige said, her voice sounding like music to my ears.

"I can't believe it worked," I replied in slight disbelief.

And then suddenly, we were driven apart by Dark Sonic smashing in between us. I was forcefully thrown backwards, skidding across the grass and hitting a tree head first. The last thing I saw before I slipped into unconsciousness was Paige-who was somehow GLOWING-and Dark Sonic getting into battle positions, silent but deadly, like vipers getting ready to strike.

**Honestly, I'm not much for writing battle scenes. They're complicated to describe. Oh well. I feel this turned out okay. Did any of you really think Paige died? As an author, my job is to make you feel emotional to whatever I'm writing about. I hope you guys were sad at her "death!" Anyways, see ya tomorrow for the epic conclusion to this battle!**

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

****

_You guys should go vote now. It's going to be awesome. I really want to know what you guys want._

_- Owlwyng :3_


	24. Death in the Dawn

**Hey guys! Sorry for all the cliffhangers I've given you lately. They're just super fun to write! Here's a warning: There's another cliffhanger (kinda) coming with this chapter x3 Happy reading! **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

_Not much more to say._

_Enjoy!_

_- Owlwyng :3_

-Death in the Dawn-

Paige was stunned. She was glowing, like actually radiating light from her body! How cool was that? The light was a nice change from the harsh darkness that surrounded them earlier. Then her thoughts started to wander. Was she going super? Maybe she was in her super form! How cool would that be?!

"Good against evil," she said to herself, chuckling a little, her golden eyes sparkling. Paige dragged her fingers through the air and little tiny sparkles of yellow shimmering particles scattered in the sky. It brought a brilliant smile to her face, one that went from ear to ear.

She started spinning, twirling in circles with the golden sparkles shimmering around her. They rained down and glittered on the grass, her clothes, and even her nose. It made Paige giggle, even though she wasn't the giggling type.

She turned her attention back to Dark Sonic. The menacing hedgehog was staring at her hungrily, almost as if he couldn't wait to attempt and kill her a second time. He'd tried once and he wouldn't hesitate to try again.

"It's a power switch, Paige!" Knuckles called. She searched to find where he was; she couldn't see him, only hear his voice. "Pick a power and see if it works!" Pick a power? Did he mean that she could just try a power that she wanted and use it instantly? Or were there set ones she could choose from? "Do it now!"

Paige imagined her choice of power, raised her arms up into the air, and released a burst of golden energy towards Dark Sonic. It hit him like a brick wall and sent him flying backwards into the trees. He spun in the air, landed on his feet, and then stumbled, clearly affected.

Chaos burst had worked! Her body tingled from the use of the energy. She loved the feeling of it, the rush of power, the way she could release it all from herself. It made her feel wonderful. Paige couldn't imagine anything better.

Dark Sonic came at her again. Paige imagined chaos control in her mind and instantly teleported behind him; she kicked him forward towards the dirt with a powerful blow. The hedgehog spat grass and chunks of soil out of his mouth as he propped himself up and glared menacingly at her, absolute hatred burning in his eyes.

He spin dashed straight into her gut, throwing her back and making her stomach churn and throb with pain. Paige sighed in stupidity. Why was she fighting bare handed? She had her nunchucks as a weapon. Duh!

She drew them out slowly, staring at Dark Sonic, not with hatred, but with pity. He didn't deserve any of this. Come to think of it, none of them did. These were all incredible people with caring hearts. Every single one of them had chosen a path of greatness, to fight on the good side, to made all things right no matter what happened to them. It was inspiring. She stood up, continuing her thoughts.

Even though Sonic wasn't there to explain to her at the moment, she suddenly understood the lesson he was trying to teach her. Sometimes it seemed easy to go to the bad side, to give up hope, to flow with the crowd instead of stand out. But that was the whole point. Although the good side took some beatings, it WAS the good side! The side that would ultimately come out on top! Even though suckish stuff happened, like Sonic having to go through all this terrible crap.

It was part of the good battle!

Paige had never felt so alive. Goodness tingled from every bone in her body. She was as light as a breeze, joyful as a cloud, and free as the wind. It was absolutely wonderful!

Dark Sonic rushed her once again. This time, he managed to kick her in the leg, causing her to fall. Now that she was on the ground, the dark hedgehog was in a position to grab her hair, which is exactly what he did.

Paige yelled as he yanked her hair around. He had his fingers underneath all her hair, straight to her scalp. Dark Sonic jerked her head around like it was a yo-yo. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Pain, pain, pain.

She'd had enough. She elbowed him in the stomach-a perfect shot, since he was standing behind her in the best position. Dark Sonic crumpled forward in pain. Grabbing him, Paige used momentum to throw flip him onto the ground. His body made a nice 'oof!' sound as it hit the cold dirt. It was surprisingly satisfying.

Laying on his back, Dark Sonic kicked Paige in the crotch from the ground. She staggered a little, but didn't go down. The hedgehog stood back up again, cracking his knuckles.

His lack of pupils was really starting to freak Paige out. The whiteness tore into her like a knife. No matter where she stood in relation to him, they kept piercing her. It was like one of those creepy portraits where when you walked across the room, the eyes followed you, although they never moved at all.

Dark Sonic moved to strike her, but Paige saw it coming and snapped her nunchucks forcefully toward him. Hissing in pain, he recoiled. Somehow, she and Dark Sonic had managed to make their way away from the group, out of the clearing and more into the trees.

Thunder boomed all around them. Paige realized she couldn't see the moon anymore, since the ominous clouds had covered the sky like a thick wool blanket. The air smelled of earth and pine with the smells of rain mixed in as well. The storm was closing in fast, and they didn't have much time left.

She wondered if she could create her own powers. Not just chaos ones, but just random superpowers as well. What if...what if she could fly? Or breathe underwater? How cool would that be?!

Paige imagined the power of shape shifting with all her heart, then raised her hands into the air with a dramatic flourish. Her glowing aura continued to pulse a with a golden yellow color, but the sparkles that flew from her hands were now a brilliant shade of deep blue. This time, instead of flying around randomly, the sparkles shimmered and made a circle in the air above her head.

The blue shimmering particles descended one by one around her, spiraling from her head to toe in an intricate pattern that reminded Paige of figure eights. They landed delicately on her clothes and immediately dissolved. Staring in wonder, she felt a slight tingling sensation as those sparkles started affecting her.

"LOOK OUT!" Knuckles suddenly shouted, and she looked up just in time to see the echidna block an attack from Dark Sonic, who was coming at her with intense speed and a sharp blade.

Knuckles took one look at the weapon and in a swift motion, managed to flip it out of his hands and into the ground. The knife sunk in deep, but the handle stuck out of the ground like a black flag of darkness, warning the world what was next. Paige moved to grab the blade but Shadow stopped her, drawing his pistol out instead and starting to aim at Dark Sonic.

"Don't you dare," she warned, a dangerous fire in her eyes. "I've been shot. Don't make me get shot again!"

"He'll kill us all!" he snapped viciously. He lowered his head so they could only see his quills and not his face.

"Not if we work together," Knuckles put in, wearily keeping his distance from the barrel of the gun. Tails and Rouge started heading their way just as Paige noticed that the blue sparkles had turned back to yellow ones again.

"It's useless! Just end it now!" Shadow hissed.

Amy joined the conversation. "They're right, Shadow. He may be in a dark form, but he's still Sonic! We won't let you kill him!" Shadow chuckled maniacally, raising his head so that we could see his wide smirk and fierce red eyes. We expected him to change sides and start a fight. To our surprise, he just fired the gun into the air and then threw it to the ground.

"Cover me," Shadow said and sprinted off to go fight...didn't Maddie call it Dream Crusher? Well, he went to go battle the giant menacing robot. Amy shrugged and went after him after looking at her glorious Sonic one last time. That left Knuckles, Tails, Rouge, and herself to fight Dark Sonic.

Paige glanced behind her at Maddie's crumpled form. It was awful seeing her like that. Her heart lurched and she forced herself to look away. Then she started wondering about her shape shifting, if she even had the power. What could she shape shift into?

She peered at Dark Sonic. He had just punched Knuckles in the face with a loud crack. The red echidna was charging back, roaring and clawing the whole way. If the situation hadn't been so serious, she would have laughed.

Dawn was approaching. The sky was grey with early light as the moon dipped low into the earth. The darkness slipped away, and the group could start to see again. Paige felt the weakness sweep across her body, as if it had just realized that it had missed an entire night of sleep. It left her tired although her heart and soul were still in the fight.

There had to be some way to get Sonic to snap out of it. He had been controlled by the collar for the longest time so far. Paige thought that the last chaos emerald being inserted meant that Sonic was not only unable to control himself, but unable to snap out of it as well. She knew that she had to do something to get him back to Sonic; to make him remember himself.

Paige didn't have time to come up with a plan because at that moment, Shadow burst through the chest Dream Crusher, showering sparks and letting loose wires fall to the ground. The robot stood frozen for a moment before staggering to the left, then back to the right.

"Eject you blasted thing! EJECT!" Eggman yelled from somewhere up in the head. She knew that the robot was going down-there was nothing Eggman or anyone else could do now. For some reason, that made her slightly upset. She wanted the battle to keep going; for the adrenaline to keep pulsing through her veins.

Dream Crusher started to tip over, metal groaning and screaming as the robot plummeted downwards, it's final moments dragging on and on. Paige didn't realize that she was in the robot's direct path until it was almost on top of her, and by then it was too late.

She saw Amy yell something to her, saw her lips move but didn't hear the words that came out. Paige suddenly couldn't see her anymore, her body cut off by the massive beast that was caving in on her. She could only see blackness and hear the crashing of metal around her. Something hit her head; a heavy weight pressed on her chest and drove her against the ground. Pain coursed through her body.

Paige lay paralyzed, barely able to breathe, dizzy and disoriented. Dirt clogged her throat. The pain rolled in waves across her body. She was stuck on her back with something jabbing painfully into her side. Moaning, she tried to roll over but found herself screaming in suffering instead. She only got fresh waves of intense pain.

Paige coughed again. The soft glow from her body disappeared as she lost whatever form she had been in earlier. The sparkles dispersed, the shimmering light faded, and the sense of peace vanished. She was left alone in the quiet, dark space, left alone to cope with her pain and thoughts.

Tears trickled down her cheeks as she moaned again, wiggling slightly. Nothing worked. She was pinned in a way where she couldn't move whatsoever. Paige found herself calling out to Maddie, even though she knew she wouldn't come.

She felt the pain like a sledgehammer. Her legs were surely broken. Thoughts were becoming foggy in her mind. She suddenly felt weightless and happy, like she was free from all her problems. Was this what death felt like?

Darkness swept in and took her away from the pain and the hurt and left her in a blissful, blissful sleep from which she didn't ever want to come out of.

**Reminder: Please go to my profile and vote! I really need your opinion on if I should include fan-made characters in the next book or not ^w^ Your vote counts! But seriously guys. It'll only take a second. Just visit my profile and click "Yes!" or "No!" Thanks so much!**

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_Why does Paige have to die? D: Anyway, go vote while I wait for you to come back._

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_- Owlwyng :3_


	25. Shattered

**Hiya guys! So this is the second to last chapter. *wipes away a tear* I'm really gonna miss this book...but, we have a new one coming! The title is called The Maze of Games. It'll be the second (technically third) book in the series. To check out more info, look on my profile page! (It should be updated after this chapter goes up)**

** While you're at my profile page, please make sure to vote! So far, only three of you guys have voted, and I know that more than three of you are reading this story! xP It'll literally only take thirty seconds at the most. Just tell me if you think fan-made characters should be included in The Maze of Games or not ^u^ Thanks everyone! Happy reading! **

**-Epicsonicfan :D**

-Shattered-

Dark Sonic stared at the place where he had just witnessed that girl get crushed by the robot. She was undoubtedly dead. There was no way a normal human body could survive the pressure and weight bearing down on her, let alone the force of the impact. She was gone for sure.

The others realized the same thing as well. The pink hedgehog began to sob, leaning on the bat for support. Everyone else just stared at the ground or the sky uncomfortably with a deep sadness spread across their faces.

Dark Sonic took the chance to advance towards the girl called Maddie. Unconscious and alone, he could kill her before anyone else would even realize what he'd done. Silently, he crept towards her. The gap between the two people shrank. He was only a few feet away now. Bending over, he grabbed the blade that had been thrown into the ground earlier. Almost there...

Suddenly, Dark Sonic spun and attempted to stab whoever was behind him. The red echidna was smart, though, and blocked the knife with sharp metal claws attached to his hands. "I don't think so," the echidna said with a smirk. He swung again and Dark Sonic blocked once more.

"Knuckles!" the pink hedgehog cried. "Look out!" Knuckles. So that was his name. Interesting but fitting.

Dark Sonic kicked his legs out from underneath him and struck the echidna hard in the stomach, then again in the side. Knuckles, as he was called, groaned and rolled over slightly, clutching his abdomen.

With hatred burning in his completely white eyes, Dark Sonic was about to punch him. Something collided with his skull before he could, though, and sent him staggering to the ground with a throbbing headache. When he glanced up, he saw the same annoying pink hedgehog from earlier. She was leaning on her hammer with a stupid triumphant look on her face.

Women...

Through the pain, Dark Sonic stumbled to his feet, facing her. Then he grabbed her wrists and twisted, forcing them the wrong way. She grimaced and squirmed to get away, but his grip held firm. The more she struggled, the more the pain sliced into her wrists.

"I don't want to"-she paused to yelp a little-"hurt you Sonic!"

"Funny," he replied, his words a sharp dagger. "Because I honestly can't say the same for you." He jerked her wrists again and the hedgehog cried out. At those words, she narrowed her eyes, bit her lip, and kneed him hard in the stomach. Dark Sonic released his firm hold and crumpled halfway to the ground. "I'm so sorry!" the pink hedgehog rapidly apologized before bolting away. Dark Sonic began to give chase, but another person stopped him before he could.

"Honey, don'tcha think this a little overboard?" the bat purred with a tone that indicated she was ready for this whole ordeal to be over. Dark Sonic smirked in response and punched her hard in the jaw. She stepped back, holding her chin in her hands and wincing. "Now that is no way to treat a lady!" she huffed angrily.

But before they could battle, suddenly Dark Sonic was kicked to the ground from behind and pinned entirely by every one of his enemies. Each person had a limb, except for that Knuckles guy. He was standing in front of him carrying a giant green emerald.

"Let go of me or I'll kill you all!" he threatened, thrashing against the hands that held him. He spit out a little bit of grass and dirt that had somehow gotten in his mouth during the fall.

"Do it now!" Shadow, the red and black hedgehog he vaguely recognized, growled to Knuckles. He was frantically scrambling to keep the Master Emerald upright. "I'm trying!" the echidna snapped back. After a few brief moments of time dragging on, Knuckles managed to situate himself and the gem so he could have his palms extended out on it's smooth surface.

"Master Emerald!" he called in a clear yet slightly desperate voice. "Please help us stop the chaos emeralds!"

Dark Sonic felt the chaos emeralds in his collar surge with power. He could tell that Knuckles was still talking. He could hear the words but they sounded far away, like he was underwater or something. The Master Emerald and the jewels around his neck started to glow brightly.

"No!" Dark Sonic growled fiercly. The hedgehog fought against the hands that held him but none of them wavered with their iron grip.

Sonic suddenly broke free of the darkness that controlled him. With a bone-chilling scream, the deep purple aura faded into nothing, his empty pupiless eyes returned to their normal emerald color, and his fur rippled into blue instead of the black that it had been before.

He collapsed on the ground, weak and exhausted. With a snap, the collar broke into two halves and tumbled to the ground around Sonic's neck. The chaos emeralds gently rolled out of their holes. All of the energy and light that once filled them was completely gone. Everyone released their hold on him and let him be alone to regain his strength.

_ -This is a magical point of view switch because I don't care anymore-_

Everything hurt. A massive headache pounded behind my skull so harshly that the slightest movement made me nearly cry out in agony. I tried to open my eyes, but only one would. My right eye was crusted shut with dried blood. I very slowly extended my hand up towards my face and dragged my delicate fingers across my forehead. Tracing the line of blood from my crusted eye to my scalp, I discovered a deep gash in my head. Ouch.

I was a little bit surprised. I expected to wake up to Paige's concerned face hovering over me, but she wasn't there.

In fact, nobody was.

I pushed myself up slightly with my palms and looked around through my one good eye. Things had changed drastically. Dream Crusher-as stupid as his name was-had been defeated, laying in a crumpled heap of metal in the center of the clearing. Sonic was back to normal it seemed. I couldn't see the collar anymkre and he seemed to be getting around fine, although he was alone.

No one seemed hurt. Rouge was flying around in the air, busy carrying misshapen pieces of metal from Dream Crusher and into a small pile of more distorted metal. Knuckles was doing the same thing as Rouge, but from the ground. Shadow was nowhere to be seen. I noticed Amy and Tails join the others in clearing the rubble. I wondered why they would make an effort to remove the remains of the robot. And where the heck was Paige?

I tried to sit up and discovered quickly I wasn't even close to having enough strength yet. I lowered myself back to the ground, panting. Amy noticed I was conscious and trotted over in my direction.

"She's up!" she called as she walked. Everyone turned their attention towards me, but all of them went back to work after a quick glance.

"What's going on?" I asked, straining to make my voice heard. Amy looked at me and opened her mouth to answer, yet she hesitated. Something about her resistance made my heart leap.

"Where's Paige?" I questioned.

"She's busy."

"I want to talk to her."

"You can later."

"But-"

"I said you could later!"

I sighed in frustration. "Help me up," I commanded more than asked. Amy did as she was told and helped me get onto my knees. Practically hanging limp on her, we managed to get me up on shaky legs. After a few minutes, we had made our way over to the fallen robot. She set me down on a nice patch of grass close to Dream Crusher's remains.

"Welcome back, princess," Shadow said curtly as he passed by me. I glared.

"Will somebody tell me where Paige is?" I asked innocently. Suddenly, everyone stopped moving. They had stopped their work entirely and stared at Amy. They barely even breathed.

"You didn't tell her?" Knuckles said finally.

"Tell me what?" I demanded. Sonic appeared from behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. He shifted me so I was facing him, staring straight into those emerald green eyes.

"Maddie," he started, those same eyes full of deep sadness. "Paige is dead."

Shock. Pure shock. That's all I felt. No pain, no sadness, just shock.

"She..." I started, but trailed off, overcome by such a sadness that I couldn't speak, not even utter a single word.

I suddenly spun on Amy and slapped in the face as hard as I possibly could. She shrieked and tumbled to the ground, holding her face in her hands. A large red hand print was left on her cheek. I balled my hands into fists at my sides, shaking. She lied to me!

Then I melted down to the ground and sobbed. I felt someone touching me, speaking words of comfort to me, but I didn't hear them. Normally, I would have shoved them off, but I didn't care. My tears pooled at my chin. I gave up trying to wipe my eyes and just let my face stay wet as I sobbed, shaking and choking and dying inside.

"Oh God," I murmured through my sobs. "Oh God."

I suddenly understood why they were clearing away the rubble of the fallen robot. Paige was underneath all that. Somewhere in that pile of metal, my best friend's body lay. I envisioned her bones crushed, snapped and splintered and poking out of her discolored skin. Her face was smashed beyond recognition, yet I could still make out an eye, still and glazed over with death. I screamed and shuddered, shoving the image out of my fragile mind.

I turned and fled, staggering away and leaving the final resting place of my best friend behind.

**I'm so excited! The last chapter will be posted tomorrow :3 As I said earlier, don't forget to check out my profile for insider info on the next book and to vote! See ya tomorrow!**

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_The last chapter is next? ;~; I don't want it to end! I still can't wait to the next book, but still... ;~; I just hope you guys go vote on Epicsonicfan's profile._

_- Owlwyng :3_


	26. The Adventure Never Ends

**Guys...this is it. The final chapter. The last one in the book. This whole experience has been so amazing for me! My first book turned out better than I ever hoped. Through it all, you've been there with praise as well as constructive criticism. You guys are my absolute world! Well, here we go! Enjoy the last chapter! **

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_I can't believe this is the end of this book. ;n; I just can't believe it. You guys are awesome and I just am so glad you stuck with it until the end. You guys are amazing._

_Enjoy._

_- Owlwyng :3_

-The Adventure Never Ends-

Shadow the Hedgehog stayed hidden silently in the trees surrounding the clearing where they had fought just hours earlier. The group had done much progress, clearing away over half of the remains of Eggman's robot. Something was nagging at him though. There was something about Paige that was different...

He crossed his arms and let out a sigh. The hedgehog didn't understand why he felt this way about her. Yet somehow, he felt a connection, an attachment. How were Paige, Maddie, and him all linked? It didn't make sense. They had never met until that fateful day a few months ago. It was a couple years in their time, but still. What had changed?

At first it was just Maddie here. Then she returned home and came back with Paige this time. Something could have happened there.

Shadow reminisced that odd event he had to go through when he and Maddie switched bodies back on Eggman's ship. He still didn't understand what caused it. Thinking, he wondered if they had created a connection then. But then he realized that there was no way Paige could be included in that, since she wasn't in Mobius at the time.

One thing bothered Shadow. He knew that Paige wasn't dead; he could feel it. He could still sense her presence in his soul. But if the group didn't clear the rest of that rubble away fast enough, she actually would die. "Ignorant fools," he mumbled to himself.

He made a quick decision. Grabbing one of the fake chaos emeralds he always had in his possession in case of emergencies, Shadow envisioned the place where Paige lay and chaos controlled there. Instantly, the metal walls surrounded him.

It was dark and cramped, and he had hardly any room at all to move. The ground felt weird beneath him, and he realized with a start that Paige's body was underneath him. Shuddering, he pushed himself away as best as he could in the tight space until he was crouched only on her legs. He was horrified to realize they were disformed.

The room Paige was trapped in was cramped and stuffy, with so little space that there was no way for Shadow to move without touching her body. Little to no light seeped in through the small cracks in the metal. The ebony hedgehog had never been one to be claustrophobic, but something about the situation made the tiny space too much for him to handle.

Suddenly, a loud pounding noise hit the walls. The pile of rubble shook around him and he instinctively scrunched into a small ball shape. A sliver of light escaped into their small tomb. From the inside, Shadow could tell that someone was just about break through the wall of metal seperating them. He had to get out of there immediately.

He fumbled to grab the fake chaos emerald; he found it rolled up against Paige's hand-or what felt like her hand-which creeped him out. The sliver of light became a crack as whoever was outside removed even more wreckage.

Shadow could now make out Paige's face, pale and sweet. She looked so young and innocent when she was unconscious, he thought, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He quickly shoved the thought and smile away to the deepest corners of his mind.

"I've found something!" Someone, Amy from the sound of it, called from outside. They were almost upon them. Shadow rushed to get his arms wrapped around Paige's waist. More light appeared and the moaning of metal echoed around them. He struggled to find the fake chaos emerald, which had fallen somewhere else during his brief moment of holding on to Paige. He cursed rather loudly.

"I heard a voice!" Tails exclaimed. On the outside, Amy and Knuckles removed a rather large piece of metal from the wreckage pile, the piece that would open up the space completely and let them save Paige. But when they peered inside, they saw nothing.

There was no one there.

Shadow hit the ground running. Carrying Paige bridal style, he skated north. According to his resources, it wouldn't take too long to get where he needed to go.

For the first time in forever, he actually felt guilty about his actions. Shadow was disgusted with how attached he'd become to Paige. He'd never let his emotions get the better of him until now.

He cursed aloud again and turned slightly east. Paige moaned and shifted a little, throwing him off balance. Shadow stumbled but kept his footing and kept going. She was certainly a strange thing.

A crack of thunder rolled across the sky, warning him of how little time he had. It wouldn't take long before someone figured out what had happened. Tails had the ability to track fake chaos emerald spikes, like the kind that occured today when he chaos controlled. He had to get there immediately!

Paige moaned again. She would come to any second. Good, Shadow thought. Maybe it would be better for her if he explained. Fumbling awkwardly for his wrist communicator, the hedgehog clicked the record button and began speaking.

By the time Shadow reached where he was going, he had recorded enough information for Paige to understand. He set her down gently on the grass. Then he switched his wrist communicator with hers, so she had the one with the message on it. His work was almost done.

Shadow may have been a steely, harsh person, but that didn't mean he was heartless. He couldn't just leave Paige with two broken legs. That would be unnecessarily cruel.

Somewhere deep down, he did have a heart.

Shadow brought out his fake chaos emerald and kneeled to the ground. He placed one hand on her disformed right thigh, keeping his other hand on the emerald. He could see the jagged lumps under her jeans where the bones were sticking out of the skin.

"Chaos heal," he whispered, gently gliding his hand down her knee, around her calf, and over her ankle. The ebony hedgehog watched indifferently as the bones in her leg shifted back to their normal position. The lumps under Paige's jeans melted away slowly. He repeated the process for the other leg.

After he finished, Shadow slapped the girl across the face twice. Bleary-eyed Paige sat up gingerly, holding her head and wincing slightly. She looked around, eventually resting her eyes on him. "Shadow?" she mumbled. "How did-"

"Come on kid," he cut her off harshly. He pulled her to her feet and pinned her arm behind her back. She cringed.

"Come on, Shadz. I didn't do anything!" she whined. Shadow's expression didn't change. "Lemme go!" He led her in front of the giant portal in front of them, and suddenly Paige grew silent.

Standing ten feet tall and ten feet wide, this portal was impossible to miss. The rim of the portal was made of pure silver and seemed to sparkle although the sun wasn't showing through the dark clouds. Little loops and curls extended from the some of the outside edges, forming delicate patterns. The actual portal itself was a lime green color. Little white particles swirled on the inside in a clockwise direction. Paige's head swam.

"Don't you DARE send me home!" She thrashed against his touch.

He didn't acknowledge her threat. "There's a message on your wrist com. You'll know what to do when you get there. I'd do it myself but I have"-he paused to look around-"other things to attend to."

"Stop being such a creepy loner and cut it out!" Paige demanded. Shadow had had enough. He said what he needed to say. The rest was up to her.

"Have a nice trip." With a grand flourish, the hedgehog spun Paige around and shoved her in the portal backwards, so that the last thing she saw before disappearing was the wide smirk covering half of his face.

~TO BE CONTINUED~

**I hope you all enjoyed! The first chapter for The Maze of Games will be posted in about a week or two. The poll regarding including fan-made characters or not will be closed on April 12, 2014. You have until then to vote.**

**See ya in a few weeks! **

**Your faithful author,**

**Epicsonicfan :D**

_That's it. Last chapter, guys. It's just so amazing. I can't wait for the next book. I do think you should go vote, like Epicsonicfan said. We care about your opinions._

_Your poster,_

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